The Contest To Find the Perfect Wife
by Moonlight Petal
Summary: Please read Chapter 13 for important information!  Syaoran, the prince of the Li Kingdom, refuses to marry anyone. The King and Queen decide to hold a contest to find the perfect wife for him. Problems ensue as the contest progresses.
1. Chapter 1

**REVISED, IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE. PLEASE READ:** After much contemplation, I have finally decided to rewrite this story. This will help me put my mind back into the story while giving the readers a reminder of what had happened. This first chapter is revised and completed. Please do not continue onto chapter 2 until you see "REVISED" in the author's note of Chapter 2. (The same goes for the other chapters. Please do not read them unless it states in the author's note that they are revised.) The story will be confusing otherwise. Much thanks!

Author's note continued: First things first. Sorry for not updating in so long!!! Truthfully, I don't know exactly what happened in that year that I have not updated in but I'm back writing this story. I'm really sorry for making everyone wait so long! Special thanks to **chocobo16** for sending a PM trying to encourage me to update soon. Oh, and bunch of thanks to **blondie** and **CuteSherry** for their long review and advice. It had made my day. :D Remember to read and review! Please stick with me through this story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura.

And as always, special thanks to my patient beta **Alyssum**. :)

* * *

An auburn haired woman used the back of her hand to wipe off the sweat collecting stubbornly on her forehead. She let out a sigh filled with both exhaustion and contentment. As her brilliant emerald eyes gazed up to the bright blue sky, she supported herself on the long shovel she had in her hand. A gentle warm breeze blew by and ruffled her long wavy hair .

"Sakura! Help me get ready for breakfast," a feminine voice rang out from the house. Hearing her mother's voice, she quickly placed the shovel away and stepped inside. She took her shoes off at the doorway and went to her room to change out of her dirty outfit.

Stepping into the worn out kitchen, she gave her mom a smile and immediately started to help her slice the carrots.

"How's the garden coming along?" her mother, Nadeshiko, asked curiously.

"It's coming along just fine. Its hard work, I admit, but I'm sure we'll be able to get some money out of it," she replied, her eyes concentrated on her nimble fingers. The carrots were quickly chopped up in no time. "Oh, I won't be back until late tonight. I'll be working late so don't worry about dinner."

Her mother bit her lower lip. "Sakura, I hate to see you work so hard. I—"

Sakura smiled. "Mom, don't worry about it. I know that you and Dad have been extremely exhausted recently and can't get as much work done. I have much more energy compared to you two anyways."

The two worked quickly in the small kitchen. Silence filled the air for a few moments, before Nadeshiko spoke again. "Sakura, I…"

Knowing that she was about to talk about something uncomfortable, Sakura quickly changed the topic. "Are Touya and Kaho coming over today?"

"Yes," her mother replied gently, a smile on her face. "I believe that they are."

"Yes!" she said, laughing. "I can't wait until Touya tries out this new recipe. If he tells me that he doesn't like it again, I'll definitely know that he's lying about my 'horrible' cooking."

Her father walked into the kitchen, his brown hair ruffled from sleep. "I followed my nose here. What are we having for breakfast?"

Nadeshiko playfully pushed her husband out of the kitchen. "Not yet. Go wash up. It's Sakura's new recipe."

Fujitaka laughed and kissed his wife on the cheek before heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

While Sakura was finishing up in the kitchen, her mother had let Touya and his wife, Kaho, into the house. They headed to the table and sat down, chatting. Fujitaka had returned and begun to help his daughter set the table. Touya's dark brown eyes roamed over the food. He cleared his throat and looked up to his sister's expectant face. "So monster, did you break the pot while you were cooking?"

Sakura stuck out her tongue and whacked him across his head. "You'll never let me forget that nickname." A mischievous glint suddenly shone in her eye. She sat down at the table with her family and slammed her foot on top of her brother's. Hard.

"OW!" he exclaimed loudly, gripping his foot. "That was mean!"

His wife started to laugh loudly, and the rest of the family began to join in.

"Let's eat. Sakura prepared a new recipe for us after all," Nadeshiko said gently, smiling.

"Grab me a bucket. I might hurl," Touya replied casually.

"Touya!" his wife exclaimed. Jabbing her elbow into his side lightly, she smiled. "Don't listen to him Sakura. You could open up your own business and drive all the restaurants out of business with your cooking."

Sakura smiled brilliantly. "Thank you! At least someone here has good taste."

The breakfast went smoothly and was filled with light chatter and laughter. When they had finished, Nadeshiko cleaned the dishes as Sakura ran out the door to work. Everyone quickly said their farewells as she left.

Arriving at the restaurant, Sakura walked into the changing room and changed into her required clothes. She buttoned up her white shirt and slipped into the short back pencil skirt. Quickly gathering her hair into a bun, she stuck the needlelike chopsticks into her hair. She remembered when she first got the job as a waitress. Her brother had presented her with these hair ornaments. He claimed that she should always wear them, just in case she ever needed to fight someone off and use them as weapons. During her first week at work, he checked in at random times just to make sure she was wearing them. A smile slipped onto her face as she remembered her brother's actions.

She stepped out of the bathroom and reported to her boss. Her boss looked at her calculatingly and flipped her long hair behind her. "I want you to sweep and mop the kitchen. Then help them clean all the plates and trays. The woman's bathroom is dirty. Go clean that and refill the toilet paper. You can serve the customers after that," her boss barked. Her boss swished around with her nose held high and went to greet a customer.

"Yes ma'am," Sakura replied obediently. She had no idea why a waitress was required to help in the kitchens and act as a janitor, but she obeyed. Her boss seemed to have something against her. She was unnecessarily cruel to her but she couldn't quit. Compared to her other jobs, she had the highest wage here, and she couldn't take the chance of getting fired.

"Get table five. Don't make them wait. They are important guests and I expect you to treat them with respect," her boss commanded as she walked by Sakura.

Quickly finishing what she was doing, Sakura went to the table filled with three rowdy men. She smiled. "Hello. I'm Sakura and I'll be your waitress for the evening." She placed down three menus onto the wooden table. The man with the chin length hair quickly grabbed her hand and kissed it.

Sakura pulled her hand away quickly and forced a smile upon her face. The man that grabbed her hand introduced himself. "I'm Hiro."

Sakura nodded her head and smiled politely. "It's… a pleasure to meet you Hiro. What would you like to order?"

She shifted the extra menu in front of her body as she saw his eyes roam down her body. He looked into her eyes and smirked. "You, for take out."

"What would you like that's on this menu?" she asked calmly.

"Nothing. Just you." His friends catcalled and egged him on.

Sakura forced herself to smile again. "Sir, I'm not on the menu. If you don't mind, Daisuke will help take your order. I am a bit busy."

Sakura quickly walked away and tapped her friend on the back before the men could reply. "Can you take table five for me Daisuke?"

He glanced over at the table and nodded his head, patting her shoulder in comfort. She smiled at him, glad to have him to rely on. She took a breath and continued to follow her boss' orders. She needed to work hard to save up money to accomplish her dream of opening her own restaurant.

When her shift was completed, she quickly went to her second job, eating a granola bar on the way for dinner. Her boss had kept her behind a bit, taking away her dinner time . As she walked into the fabric shop, she changed and reported in, continuing to work until 9:00 pm. There, she went to her third job at a grocery store where she would continue to work until 2:00 in the morning.

She quickly walked home through the deserted roads after work, heading home. A small streak of light shone through the windows of her house. She opened the, confused. Her parents were usually asleep by now.

Seeing her parents sitting at the table, she walked over to them, worry etched onto her face. "What happened?"

"The king's messenger came by with this letter," said Fuijitaka, handing a letter to Sakura.

_Sakura Kinomoto__,_

_You are summoned to the palace to participate in the royal contest where the future wife of His Highness Prince Syaoran will be determined__. It is required that every eligible maiden in this kingdom are to attend this contest. To receive this letter means that you are eligible and that you fulfill the following requirements:_

_-between the ages 20 and 22_

_-single (not married, divorced, or engaged)_

_-having a clean record_

_This contest will last around a year. Within this year, you are not allowed to leave the palace unless given permission by the royal family. There will be holiday breaks and you are free to head home during these holidays. More information will be given later on. The contest will begin __on June 26__th__._

_A carriage will come on the 25__th__. Please refer to the sheet attached to see where and when your carriage will arrive. Please pack clothes and anything else you believe that you might need. Food, toiletries, and rooming will be offered free of charge._

_King Xing Li and Queen Yelan Li_

Sakura stared at the sheet of paper in her hand, her thoughts running amuck through her mind.

* * *

Review and critque! Remember, do not read chapter 2 until it says revised in the chapter note. Otherwise, you'll just be confused. Ehehehe...


	2. Chapter 2

**REVISED, Author's Note:** Haha, chapter 2 is finally revised. Now you can read it. :) It's late and school starts tommorow. I just wanted to get this chapter out first for everyone to read. Once again, please do not continue onto the next chapter until it says that it is revised.

I also have a few people to say thanks to:

Thanks to **Alyssum**, my beta. She's been a big help, catching all the details that I couldn't find and giving out advice for stuff that I was stuck on.

Speical thanks to **kemiyo tashino** and **anonymous_609**. They notified me of something I was not aware of. Future details may given but right now, I'm not disclosing. Thank you and I'm going to try to fix this with the help of my beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura

* * *

Sakura felt distressed at the sudden turn of events. Worries and concerns pricked at her mind. She bit down on her lower lip. "Is there anyway that I can stay behind and not go?"

"Sakura, it's required for you to attend. I'm afraid that you there's no way around this," Fujitaka said softly. He sighed and gave a small smile to his daughter. "I know that you want to stay behind because you're worried about us. We'll be fine, so don't worry."

Sakura looked at her parents in the glow of the dim candle. "How can I not worry though?" she whispered. "Both of you seem to be so tired and exhausted everyday. Your bodies won't be able to handle a job."

Nadeshiko smiled comfortingly and reached her husband's hand. "There's no way other way. Besides, we always find a way around our troubles. We'll get around it somehow so don't fret over us."

Fujitaka nodded. "Let's all head to bed. It's getting late."

Sakura sighed and forced a small smile upon her face. "Goodnight. I love you guys."

Nadeshiko stood up and gave Sakura a warming hug. "We love you too. It'll be okay so don't worry too much about it. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Sakura," her father smiled as he patted her on the back. "It'll work out somehow."

Sakura nodded and watched as they headed to their room. As she heard their door click she bit the lower right corner of her lip unconsciously. She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling. Her emotions were wreaking havoc in her heart and her thoughts felt like heavy weights in her mind. Tears were threatening to fall from the corners of her eyes.

She grabbed her keys and stepped out the door, locking it. Almost immediately, a warm gust of wind came by, tousling the lose strands that had escaped from her bun. Sakura closed her eyes and leaned against the door.

_I can't cry. I won't cry, _thought Sakura_. I have to be stronger than that. I have to find someway to get through this. Crying won't solve anything. I can't be weak. I have to stand strong._

She opened her eyes and stared out into the dark, royal blue sky. Stars were twinkling in the air, the silver moon calmly overlooking everything. The serene view was the exact opposite from her emotions.

_What should I do? The doctors can't find anything wrong with my parents. They keep saying that they just need rest, but my parents are at home the whole day. How can they be so tired and weak?"_

Sakura gave a cry of frustration, desperately trying to hold her tears back. She shook her head, trying to banish the thoughts out of her mind. Taking in a deep breath, she walked away from the door, trying to calm down. Her mind was reeling, feeling more muddled by the second. Nodding her head, she decided that maybe she could take up another job. The money she'd saved up couldn't last forever, but maybe if she saved just enough, they wouldn't have to work as hard.

Sakura walked away, not knowing that in the house her father was holding her crying mother in his arms. "If only," her father said.

Sakura debated about where to go. Who would be willing to hire on such short notice? Before she realized it, her feet had unconsciously brought her to the restaurant. Breathing in deeply she tried to smile. She gently wrapped her fingers on the handle bar and paused. Would her boss be willing to give her longer hours? She shook her head again. Tightening her grip, she pushed open the door.

Immediately the sound of chatter and laughter filled her ears. Tinkling sounds of glass and silverware echoed around the room as the rich aroma of food wafted through the air. Waitresses and waiters were bouncing from one table to another, making sure not to make a customer wait too long. The big chandelier, hanging from the middle of the room, shone bathed the restaurant in a gentle glow. Sakura walked forward and asked one of the waiters to get the boss.

He obliged and walked into the employee room. A few seconds later, her boss walked out with one hand on her hip and the other fluffing her hair. The boss laid eyes on Sakura and raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?" She examined her nails.

"Chizu, I'm tight on money… Can I have extra hours? I usually work from 9:00am to 3:00pm."

The boss looked up from her nails and scrutinized her. She paused. "There aren't many people during this time so you can work from 6:00am to 12:00am. During this… 18 hour shift, you may only have two half hour breaks for lunch and dinner and 3 ten minute breaks. You will start tomorrow or else this deal is off." She smirked, believing that the schedule would be too hard for Sakura to handle.

Sakura knew that she would have to quit her other jobs. The restaurant paid more and she needed all the money that she could attain. "That would be great. I'll be sure to show up to work tomorrow."

"Humph." She fluffed the boa that was wrapped around her neck and started to walk toward the exit, her hips swaying crazily. Pouting her red lips, she started to wink at some of the men in the restaurant.

Sakura tried to hold her smile back at her boss' antics.

Her boss was too preoccupied with her actions. Since she wasn't looking in front of her, she did not realize that there was a door in front of her. She ran right into it. The force threw her off balance and onto the floor, breaking one of her shoe's heels. It took her a couple of minutes trying to get up with her numerous accessories and her broken heel. Standing up and huffing, Chizu glared at the door and kicked it with her foot. Not only did the door not budge, but she also hurt of her foot in the process, causing her to hop on her good foot.

Hopping on one foot did not work for her and for the second time, she tumbled onto the floor. Embarrassed and angry, Sakura's boss huffed and walked out the exit and into the night, her nose pointing high into the air.

Sakura tried to muffle her laughter during the event. Both hands were clasped over her mouth but as soon as her boss left, Sakura burst into laughter. The hands that were trying to keep her laughter at bay now held her hurting stomach. Her sweet laughter filled the air, mesmerizing a few people, and a few others joined. Feeling a bit livelier, Sakura reined in her laughter and headed home to get a few hours of sleep before working again the next day.

She walked home with many thoughts still plaguing her mind. Worries of her family and of the future were embedded into her brain. Her thoughts followed her as she collapsed onto bed. She tossed and turned in bed for hours, her mind filled with unanswerable questions. Finally, she fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Please review! Comments and critiques would be greatly appreciated. I also accept anonymous reivews. :)

Thank you for those who have reviewed Chapter 1!

**brightestoflights; SakuraBlossomx; Cherryblossom93; breathlessnightxx; aniamania; rosedreamer101; xXLilXSasukeXx; puasluoma; clapz; antrea; Bacaforeva; tennislover431; Daniela93sweet; Shinee; lynx-ww; Destiny980; taylor; Twilight1243; Abby-chan; Pudding; -abbychansookawaii-; chainedheart999; lovesakurabloom; Popular Wannabe; Anonymus; Upset fan; HikariNoTenshi-San; Sakura695; Iwee-sah; Phoenix Fanatic**


	3. Chapter 3

**REVISED, Author's Note**: Chapter 3 is revised. I just really want to thank everyone for being so patient with me as I'm going through and revising. Thanks for the support and I hope that you'll continue reading this story. :)

As usual, special thanks to my beta, **Alyssum**. She's helping me greatly with developing the plot and is also spending a lot of time assisting me with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura.

* * *

Two eyelids fluttered open to reveal captivating emerald eyes underneath. Silky, auburn hair was scattered around the pillow. Yawning, the girl sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes, her body naturally waking up at the crack of dawn. She got up from her bed and shuffled her feet along the floor, heading toward the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead of her.

Stepping out of the bathroom and feeling a bit more refreshed, Sakura silently walked to the kitchen and hastily ate breakfast. Finding a scratch sheet of paper, she wrote a note informing her parents of the new schedule and placed it on the table. After taking her last bite of food, she walked to her other jobs to notify them of her quitting. She arrived at the restaurant just in time and pushed on the door, causing the bell that indicated a new customer to ring. She smiled and greeted her coworkers.

One of them handed her a long list of things to do during her shift. "Our boss told me to give it to you," was the only explanation offered. Sighing, Sakura set out to complete the long tasks.

* * *

Meanwhile a prince was furiously pacing across a rug. His amber eyes were aflame with heated fury. Quickening his pace, the prince stormed around his parents' room. Suddenly stopping, he stared at his calm parents. "So you went behind my back without asking how I felt and set up a contest to find a wife for me. Why is that I have no say in this even though this affects my future the most?"

His mother, Yelan, sighed. Despite her stress, she was able to uphold her immaculate posture and give off an elegant aura. Her husband placed an arm around her shoulder in comfort. He spoke up. "Syaoran, I understand that you are frustrated. However, you are 22 years old already and still haven't found anyone. You can't stay single forever and you reject everyone we try to introduce to you. You need a wife to help you with your duties as a future king. I can't put this off any longer."

Syaoran spoke, his voice cold. "I don't need anyone to help me with my duties. I can handle it just fine. My "wife" will just bring me down. And all the people you have tried to set me up with are just airheads. They are all gold diggers who have been spoiled all their life! I don't need someone like that."

"Syaoran," his mother spoke with a calm but commanding tone, "Calm down and try to understand that you need to find a wife in order to step up to the throne. There are many women in the world. Surely one will catch your eye. Not everyone will betray your trust."

"With the 'ladies' that have been surrounding me, it's hard to believe otherwise. Not one of them—" He broke off and looked at his parents irately.

Yelan smiled softly to calm him. "Eriol was able to find Tomoyo. Look at the love they share. There is a girl out there that you'll love. You just have to find her and be willing to search for her."

Syaoran scoffed. "So what if he found his love? Tomoyo wouldn't be able to hold the position of a queen. She would just run away from all the responsibilities. I won't fall in love with anyone. The woman that you'll force me to marry will just run away from all the pressure."

The king stared at Syaoran, his golden eyes hardening. "That's enough, Syaoran! Tomoyo would be far better a ruler than you in your current state. Don't bring your unreasonable grudges into this! This contest is happening and nothing you say will change that. I don't want to hear any more from you. You are dismissed."

Syaoran breathed in deeply, anger flowing through his veins. "Yes father." He strode out of the room and went into the training room to release his rage. He felt as if there were red hot flames dancing throughout his body. Sweat glistened on his face as he let his extra energy out through fighting. He alternated between throwing punches and releasing kicks. Despite the overpowering anger, he felt this small pain inside his chest. It wasn't overpowering, nor was it pulsing with energy. It was this small feeling of sadness that he pushed further down into his heart.

* * *

Sakura worked hard during her last week of work, hoping to pool enough money for her parents. The work at the restaurant was strenuous. Throughout that week, as soon as her feet had gotten a second's worth of rest, her boss sent her on more demanding errands. Before she knew it, on the morning of June 24th, Sakura woke up feeling dread rise up in her body.

She felt her body drained of energy as she walked into the restaurant and scanned for her boss. Sakura spotted her sitting next to a rich man who was wearing expensive clothing, adorned with gold chains. She headed their way and paused, waiting for her boss to notice her. When she realized that wasn't going to be any time soon, she cleared her throat. Her boss did not hear. She was too busy attempting to be seductive. It was not until the middle aged man noticed that he said something to her boss.

Chizu was typically furious at Sakura for interrupting her conversation and let out her irritation. "You insolent girl! Don't you know what respect is?"

Her loud shout caught the attention of the people nearby. They lowered their voices and tried to eavesdrop. The man that Chizu was talking to ran his hand through his hair and gave a small smirk to Sakura. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sakura forced down her annoyance at her boss and replied politely. "Nice to meet you. I'm sorry to interrupt you and your…" Sakura paused. "girlfriend, but I need to talk to her for a second.

"Ah… I'm afraid that you're wrong about that. She's quite interested in me though although I can't say that I like her back," he spoke haughtily.

Silverware and dishes clattered onto the floor. The tablecloth, which was nicely set on the table, fell to the floor as the boss gave it a ferocious tug. She smashed the vase that was sitting nicely on the table next to them. Glass was scattered everywhere as the rug slowly seeped up the water. All the attention in the restaurant was attracted to the ruckus occurring.

Sakura's boss harshly latched onto Sakura's arms. She dug her fingernails into Sakura's skin, causing her to wince. "You!" She growled. "Nothing good comes out of having you around. I was making progress with him until you came and messed it all up. I don't ever want to see your face again. Get out!" she screamed.

Sakura removed her boss' hands from her arm. She ignored the pain and stared at her boss. "That's fine. I quit."

The boss let her mouth drop open in shock. Then she understood. "That must have been one of your ploys to get your job back by pretending that you didn't care. Well guess what? You won't get your job back that way. I know that you need it," she said, feeling a bit smug. If she wanted her job back, she could get onto her knees and beg. And even then she wouldn't give it back. She offered high wages and plenty of people would be willing to fill her spot.

"I'm quitting," Sakura repeated simply. She turned around and walked out to the door as her boss stood still with astonishment. Sakura suddenly paused and spoke, still facing the door. "Frankly, I can see why he didn't like you. Your personality leaves much to want. You're quite spoiled aren't you? Throwing a vase and ruining the table just because he didn't like you." Feeling that some of her anger was relieved, she exited the restaurant.

Sakura took the long way home, passing through the park. The park was her safe place, where she could rest and think. Her chest felt much lighter after being able to yell back at her boss. It wasn't nice, but she was finally able to get out part of the anger that she felt of her boss' maltreatment toward her.

She broke into a run toward the park, neatly avoiding the people in the street. A few strands of hair fell from her bun as the breeze whirled around her. It was not until she got to the park did she slow down and stop.

She meandered through the park and trees, heading toward the secret place she had found. The delicate scent of sakura blossoms filled the air as it wafted toward her and surrounded her, sweetly scented.

She remembered how she had found this certain place, playing hide and seek with her brother. She got lost but ended up discovering a magnificent place. She finally managed to find her way out, but not before memorizing how to arrive back into the secret place.

Sakura trees were scattered around, their pink petals decorating the air when they gently fell. The pond was a clear, sparkling blue. During the sunset, the pond reflected the sun and the colors splashing the sky. When night arrived, moon and stars would be reflected. During that time, the water would turn into a royal shade of blue as it mirrored the night sky.

Her attention was taken away as she heard a rustle and light footsteps. She quickly hid behind a tree and peeked out. The back of a person slowly disappeared out of sight. She furrowed her eyebrows. Could it have been that someone else also knew of her little secret hideout?

Her eyes suddenly caught a glimmer of an object on the ground. Making her way toward it, she picked up the small dagger and unsheathed it from the case. The case and handle both were golden, both holding the same design of a sakura blossom. It was a simple, yet intricate design that took her breath away.

The silver blade gleamed underneath the sunlight. Brining it up parallel to her face, she realized that she could see her own reflection in it. As she examined the blade, she came to the conclusion that it was not only sturdy but sharp.

She bit the bottom right corner of her lip as she debated over what to do with it. She finally decided to take the dagger with her, just incase someone found it and took it. The dagger looked valuable and she didn't want just anybody to take it. She had to return it to its owner somehow. Quickly, she slipped it into her dress pocket.

Walking out of the park, she headed home and spotted her brother at her doorstep. He was scowling, causing Sakura to walk up to him and pinch him tightly on the cheeks.

"You look gloomy," she commented as she continued to pull her brother's face into funny shapes.

He sighed, understanding that she wanted to be in a good mood for the day. It was going to be the last day they spent together before the contest would separate them. "Let's go eat lunch. You quit all your jobs, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. You found out I suppose? About the contest?"

Touya merely walked into the house, tense. He sat down next to his wife, who gave him a soothing pat on the back. Sakura joined her family and the first few minutes of lunch were silent.

Touya's rant came unexpectedly. "Who does the prince think he is? Just because he suddenly needs a wife he goes and makes up some pathetic contest to find himself the "perfect" wife? What's up with that? Does he think that just because he's the prince, every girl should come to his beck and call?"

Kaho looked at him, surprised by his outburst. "Touya, calm down. Take Sakura's feelings into consideration. She's not happy either and shouting while being so angry will just make everyone feel worse."

Touya glanced at Sakura and looked down at his food. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Conversation stalled again, the forks clinking onto the plates. Sakura quickly excused herself, saying that she had to go to her room to do something and that she would be right back. Walking toward her bed, she hig the dagger underneath her pillow and prepared to rejoin the family. Hearing quiet talking though, she paused and listed quietly.

Her father sighed. "Touya, none of us are happy with this. We all want Sakura to stay with us but we can't disobey the royal family. I truly don't think that the prince is as bad as you say. He might have not even been the one who set up the contest. The rules and the expectations of the royal family are not something we know all about. Perhaps there was some kind of struggle behind this."

Touya stared grumpily at his food as Kaho spoke. "Before I met you, I refused to get married. I thought that all the men here were immature and annoying. I know that you agree and know how hard it is to find someone right for you. I have high expectations for Sakura's husband. She's such a sweet and beautiful girl. As her sister-in-law, I want to find a man that is worthy of her. I don't know much about the prince, but with the way that the country is being run, I believe that the royal family has a good heart."

Nadeshiko smiled. "We can't hold onto her forever, as much as we want. This will be a chance for her to meet other people. Sakura is 20 already. She does need to get married soon. This might be a chance for her to find love and be safe. I'm not saying that it will be with the prince. I just think that this might be a good experience for her to discover what qualities she might want in a man. She's a sweet girl. I would like her to marry someone she knows she loves."

"I just don't want to let go of her," he whispered. She smiled, her eyes watering with emotion.

"I thought that the father was the one who objects most about daughters getting married?" stated Fujitaka. Everyone laughed and Sakura took the moment to walk down the stairs.

"Did I miss something?"

Everyone just continued to laugh. Sakura just smiled and joined in with their contagious laughter. The rest of lunch went by smoothly. For the rest of the day, the family spent their time together. Touya and Kaho had decided to stay overnight, insisting on sleeping in the living room.

As everyone headed to bed that night, Sakura went to her room to pack. She counted the money she had earned and saved up. It would last for a while, but not long. She knew that she wasn't alone. Touya and Kaho would help out as much as possible. She believed that everything would be okay.

Grabbing just a tiny bit of money for emergencies, she placed it inside the small trunk she was bringing. She didn't have a lot of stuff with her, just mementos and other items. After all, all her other needs would be provided for. A knock sounded on the door.

"Come in."

It was her brother who had knocked. He walked in and sat on the floor with her. He bluntly spoke his opinion. "I think you should pack some weapons."

Taken aback Sakura spoke. "Why? The castle will be safely guarded and it's not like I'm in a war. What would I use them for?"

"There's going to be a lot of rivalry. The richer contestants might pay others to assassinate some of their rivals. It would also be the easiest time to attack the castle with so many people going in. Everyone is coming—"

"You are exaggerating way too much. I understand your worries but do you think I'll really need them? The royal family isn't that stupid. They've been ruling our country for so long after all. They'll think of all this and increase the guards. Don't worry."

"You haven't gone wrong yet by listening to your brother. Just let me feel less worried alright? You've always been somewhere where I could watch over you. Having you somewhere where I can't makes me nervous. Will you just bring them? Mom and dad might not be able to sleep soundly otherwise. Kaho and I will worry too."

Sakura smiled in defeat. "The way that you say it makes me feel as if I'm doing something wrong by not bringing any. Alright, alright. What do you want me to pack? I'll have to hide them somehow." She paused and suddenly laughed. "The things that you make me do."

"Keep your hair in it's bun along with those long needles to hold them up. Bring a few daggers too."

"Isn't a "few" too much?"

"No."

Sakura shook her head. "One is enough."

"Bring two at least. One to keep under your pillow and another one on you at all times."

Silence filled the room. "… And where would I find these daggers to bring with me?"

"I only brought one dagger so… Bring a kitchen knife to stick under your pillow," he replied with a serious expression on his face.

Sakura open her mouth to speak but immediately burst into laughter. Her stomach began to hurt from laughing so hard. She tried to speak through her gasps for air. "Only you would think of that and say it so seriously!"

Touya's lips twitched into a small smile. Sakura spoke after her laughter had subsided. "I have another one. I'll just bring that. I'm warning you though, the only reason I'm bringing weapons is because I don't want you guys to constantly worry about me. If I come back and discover everyone is still worrying, I'll ditch them."

Touya nodded and handed her the dagger that he had. He smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Goodnight."

Sakura smiled. "Nighty night."

Touya stepped out of her room. He walked into the living room, sitting on the floor next to his wife. As his wife leaned onto him, he wrapped his arm around her.

"Sakura is quite pretty isn't she?" she commented.

"Hnn..."

"She's even prettier with her hair down, isn't that right?"

"Hnn…"

"The reason why you told her to put her hair in a bun with those chopstick needles isn't just to protect herself is it? You have another reason."

"Hnn…"

She smiled. "I knew it. You had an ulterior motive."

Touya smiled and kissed her on the forehead fondly. "You know me so well."

Kaho smiled. "I can't believe you. She's at a contest to win over the prince and you tell her to keep her hair up in a silly attempt to lesson her beauty? The whole purpose is for her to be at her best so the prince will be attracted to her."

He murmured into her hair. "All the more reason to keep her hair up."

Kaho laughed. "No matter. I believe the beauty in her heart and personality will win him over any day."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for those who have reviewed Chapter 2! Any suggestions, comments, and/or critique is greatly appreciated!

**amey27; kaYeYe; Strawberry Ice; Sellie-chan; arya21; Storyteller of Dimensions; Ayzeen; breathlessnightxx; rosedreamer101; holdingontobelieve; InvisibleHope; Cherryblossom93; xXSayuri-chanXx; tennislover431; chainedheart999; lovesakurabloom; KitsuneNaru; Anonymus; Iwee-sah; maaike13; neko-chiidesu  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everybody that has reviewed! Special thanks to Yiing-fa for all the suggestions! I apologize to everybody for the late update!

_thoughts are in italics_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura

* * *

**Last chapter:**

Touya walked out and shut the door. His footsteps faded a few seconds later. Sakura finished packing all of her stuff but she felt as if she forgot something. A feeling was nagging at her, telling her to try and remember. Trying to remember something, she walked toward the bed, turned around, bent her knees, and flopped down on it. Suddenly, she remembered as soon as her head hit the pillow. She had another dagger under her pillow. It was the one that she had found in the park. Sakura sat up and lifted it out from beneath her pillow. For some reason, she decided to bring it. Sakura went back to her suitcase and opened it. She hid the dagger with the other weapons between all the clothes that she had. Finishing everything, Sakura took a shower and went to bed. Thoughts filled her mind once again. _"It's June 24th. Tomorrow, I have to leave. What is going to happen? What are my parents going to do? What is the castle like? What is the royal family like? How will the contest go? How is it going to be? I can't believe it's the 24th of June already. I don't want to believe it."_

**End of Last Chapter

* * *

**

The carriage rolled down the bumpy road as it jolted upwards. Sakura's suitcase was held securely in her hand. She had left her house just a few minutes ago. She gave the money that she earned to her parents, telling them not to work. She made sure that everything was in order before she left. They had a nice breakfast and they all had said their goodbyes. It seemed too much of a dream to be real. No..., dream was not the word to describe it. It was more like... a nightmare, a nightmare that separated her from her family. Just a few weeks ago, she was living normally. After a few weeks, she suddenly was going to the castle entering a contest with the chance to be the future King's wife.

The carriage jolted again causing high, loud pitched screams from a couple of girls in the same carriage with her. The two girls that screamed where from a "high class". They sat right across from her. Even though Sakura barely knew them, she already found them annoying, and rude. She found out that one of the girl's names was Midori. She was the one with the short green hair and the brown eyes. The other one was Kotone. She had long red hair and red eyes. Both of them were wearing way too much makeup. They were talking loud enough for the whole carriage to hear them.

"I can't believe that I'm in the same carriage with these... these filthy pheasants," said Midori with a look of disgust on her face.

"I know, I should be able to ride in better conditions than this," agreed Kotone.

"They aren't going to win anyways, so what's the use of even letting them enter the contest?"

"I agree. The have no chance against us. I mean, look at them," she pointed her finger at everybody else. "Look how ugly they look. Look how gorgeous we look. The prince will fall for us in one single look."

"I know," said Midori.

The two girls erupted in high pitched laughter.

It seemed as if the other girls in the car couldn't stand it anymore. One girl decided to speak up for them. She had short brown hair with blue eyes as pretty as the sky. Her name was Sora.

"If you want something ugly to look at, why don't you look in a mirror?" said Sora.

The two girls immediately shut their mouths. They had nothing to say back.

"Y-y-y you'll regret it!" shouted Kotone.

"Yeah, you will!" shouted Midori. "When I become queen..."

"No, I'm going to become queen, not you!" shouted Kotone.

And with that said, they started to argue with each other. It was quite funny hearing their useless threats and seeing them pull at each other's hair and scratching each other. It was funny to see their pathetic attempts at "fighting", if that's what you even want to call that. The other girls in the carriage broke out in fits of laughter.

"Hello, my name is Hikari," said a girl with beautiful, long white hair and silver eyes. She was sitting to the right of Sakura. "It's nice to meet you."

Sakura smiled. "It's nice to meet you too. My name is Sakura."

"My name is Sora. Glad to meet you guys too," said the girl to the left of Sakura. "I hope we can become friends."

"Of course we will!" said Sakura. They continued to chatter, learning more about each other. There were occasional jerks of the carriage and shouts from the other girls that were still arguing. The carriage got more crowded as more people got on. The three girls became fast friends, even though they had just met each other. Time passed by a lot faster for Sakura with someone to talk to.

"Look!" shouted Hikari as she pointed out of the window. "There's the palace!"

Everybody stopped their chatter and whatever they were doing. They started gathering around the window of the carriage to get a peek outside, making sure not to lose their balance. Sure enough, there was the castle. There were other carriages there too.

"We are here at the castle, please step out of the carriage and follow me," said a man who had opened the carriage door as soon as the carriage stopped. "Please grab your belongings too."

One by one, all the girls anxiously got out. Even Sakura was in a hurry to get out. The carriage was stuffy with all the people in there. She barely had any room and ached all over from the bumpy ride. She jumped out of the carriage to be greeted by the warm sunlight on her skin. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue and the clouds were white and fluffy. The air was sweet and refreshing. It blew gently against her skin, leaving a tingling feeling behind. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She opened her eyes and set her suitcase onto the floor, right by her foot. Everyone else got out of the carriage and the carriage moved to where the other carriages were.

Gasps were heard from everyone, including from Sakura. They had never seen such a beautiful place. The grass was green and everybody was live with excitement. The palace was absolutely breathtaking. The flags waved proudly in the air, welcoming everyone. Sakura felt relaxed. Someone tapped her shoulder. It was Sora.

"Come on Sakura, we have to go, everyone is leaving."

Sakura picked up her luggage. Together, with her new friends Sora and Hikari, they headed to castle that would change their lives.

"Everyone, please walk past the gates and into the open space. Stand there until everything is settled. Please hang onto your luggage. The royal family will come to explain everything and welcome everyone," the servants said to everyone.

There was a never ending line of girls behind Sakura. She went into the castle and stood near the front with Sora and Hikari. They called 20 girls into the castle at a time. Many times, a girl would walk out with tears streaming down her face and her luggage in her hand, heading toward the carriages. Other times, a girl had to be dragged out by a guard and into the carriage.

"What do you think is going on?" asked Sora.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know," said Hikari in a small voice, a little worried herself.

"Chill, I'm sure everything will be fine," said Sakura trying to convince them. They moved forward in the line as 20 other girls were called. After 10 minutes, a few men stepped out to choose 20 women. Sora and Hikari were both chosen but Sakura wasn't. Sakura smiled and urged them to go in. "Don't worry about me. You guys go ahead and go in." Sakura plastered a fake smile on her face. She gave them a small push. They disappeared into the castle. Letting out a sigh, Sakura allowed the fake smile to be removed from her face.

"_I wish you the best of luck, Sora and Hikari!"_

Sakura stood out there. She would be next. What would happen to her friends? What would happen to her? After what it seemed like forever, she was called into the castle. She went over to a table that was open.

"Hello, welcome to the castle. Please tell me your name, starting with your last name first," said the man.

"My name is Kinomoto, Sakura."

The man got out a file that was labeled "K". He quickly searched through it until he found what he was looking for.

"Can you spell your full name for me? I just need to confirm it."

"K-I-N-O-M-O-T-O, S-A-K-U-R-A."

He crossed out her name. "Here is your room number and key. Please do not lose it. Head to the room over there," said the man, turning around and pointing in the direction in front of him. "You should see the other contestants there." He sat back down and looked at the papers in front of him.

Sakura took the key. "Thank you," said Sakura with a kind smile on her face.

The man looked up with a shocked facial expression on his face. "I'm sorry; can you repeat what you just said?"

"Uh… Thank you," said Sakura again.

The man smiled back at her, making Sakura a little confused. He let out a laugh. "You must be confused. You see, nobody else said thank you to me so it kind of shocked me when you did."

"Oh," said Sakura.

"Good luck with the contest!"

"Thank you!" Sakura walked toward the direction the man pointed her towards. A frustrating cry filled the air. Sakura quickly turned around.

"You have it wrong, I'm not married and I'm not 25! I'm eligible to enter the contest! I will be your future queen." Her voice faded as she was dragged outside.

"So that's why there were people being dragged into the carriages," mumbled Sakura to herself. She turned around and stared at everything in awe. The castle looked as beautiful as it did outside. While admiring everything, she walked straight ahead and into the spacious room where she was supposed to go. The sound of loud voices and squeals filled her ears. Sakura looked around the room for a place to sit when she heard a faint voice calling her name.

"We are in the front Sakura!" shouted Sora.

She recognized the voice. It was Sora. Sakura looked in the front of the room, looking for her friends.

"Over here! We are over here!" said Hikari. Sakura turned her head toward the direction she heard Hikari's voice and searched frantically for them. More people were coming in and they were pushing past her. Sakura kept looking until she found them. They were standing up and waving their arms in the air, trying to get her attention. Sakura smiled at them. She pushed her way through the crowd with her luggage in her hand. She inched her way to the front where her friends were sitting, trying not to trip over anything or anyone. Finally, she made it to the front. They were in the third row.

"We saved you a seat!" they screamed.

"Thanks!" Sakura yelled back.

She plopped down onto the chair between them. "So how did it go?" asked Hikari.

"It went fine."

"What? I can't hear you."

"It went fine," said Sakura in a louder voice. "How about you?"

"It went good for us too!" They sat there talking about random stuff. Once in a while you would hear them laughing. An hour later, a man walked in the middle of the stage.

"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!!!" a loud voice pierced through the air, calming everyone down. Soon, the voices diminished into nothing. It was surprising how fast the room was quieted. All eyes were on the man in front.

"Thank you. King Xing Li and Queen Yelan Li will be explaining everything," said the man, as he gestured to the King and Queen. He took a quick bow and walked off stage.

Everyone stood up and curtsied. They King and Queen waited till everyone was seated again.

"Welcome to the castle!" shouted the King. "We hope you will enjoy your stay here. As most of you know, we are holding a contest. Whoever wins this contest will be the future Queen and will marry our son."

This time the queen spoke. "These are some of the people who will be judging with us. Please welcome them!" Applause filled the room. "These people are also from the royal family."

The King pointed to the man closest to him. "This isEriol Hiiragizawa. He is our nephew, also the prince's cousin." The King pointed to the lady next to him. "This is his wife, Tomoyo Hiiragizawa."

The queen stepped forward. "These are our daughters, Shiefa Li, Fanren Li, Feimei Li, and Fuutie Li. There are two more judges but they could not come here today. Of course the king and I are also judges. We will be passing out a book. Please read through it. It has the rules and more information about the contest." Yelan motioned for the servants standing on the sides to pass them out. As soon as everyone got a copy, the king and queen resumed talking again.

"It's almost 12:00 and I know that everybody has been exhausted and hungry. Like Yelan has said, please read through the rules. If you break one, you have to suffer the consequences and you might even be kicked out of the contest. Good luck to everyone," said the King.

"We will lead you to the place where you will eat. Then we will show everyone where you will be staying at. Everyone will be able to get their own rooms. **(Author's Note:** There are 100 contestants. It's not because the Li kingdom is small. It's because most women are married at this age in this story.You won't have to do anything for the rest of the day. When it is 6:00, please head down to the lunch room. Your booklet has a map and incase you get lost, there are servants whom you can ask for help," said Yelan.

"I know that everybody wants to see the prince," said Xing. "Well, here he is!"

The room got quiet. The prince walked onto the stage. Immediately, after they saw him, the room erupted in screams and squeals. The prince walked toward his father, his face emotionless but his eyes clearly showing disgust and anger.

"_Ugh! Why did I have to be here? Every single girl here is just after the same thing. My body, my looks, the fame, the money, and the title of queen. I don't need a stupid woman to be my wife. I can do fine without one," thought Syaoran._

The screams and the squeals would have gone on forever if the King did not tell them to calm down and head to the cafeteria. The royal family ate at one table and the contestants ate at different ones. After they finished eating, the king had someone show them their rooms. Sakura opened her door and turned around. She locked the door and set her luggage on the floor. Turning around again, she took a look at her room. She immediately squealed in delight. There was a patio leading outside and there was a bathroom in her bedroom. There was a comfortable looking queen sized bed. The pillows were all fluffy. **(Author's Note:** You can decide on what kind of bedroom it is

She went into the bathroom. They had already supplied a toothbrush and toothpaste for her. Towels and the shampoo and body wash were already neatly piled on the counter. It was like she was living in an expensive hotel.

Sakura decided to take a bath. Then she would unpack and then read the booklet. Then she would go and explore the castle. After all, she didn't have to do anything for 5 hours.

She looked in the mirror. It had been three days since she could take a bath or a shower. Her hair was all messed up and her face had dirt on it. Sighing, she took filled the bathtub with water. She put some bubble soap in it that smelt like cherry blossoms. She watched the bubbles form. Sakura couldn't help but let out a childish laugh. She went back into her room and got out a change of clothes. She went back into the room. She locked the bathroom door and took off her clothes. She slid into the bathtub, letting out a sigh.

"_Ah… This feels so good."_

She relaxed herself and closed her eyes. Smiling, she stayed like that for a while. After a few minutes, she washed her hair. Then she washed her face. She stayed in the bath for a half hour, relaxing herself, enjoying being pampered. After the half hour, Sakura got out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around her. Putting, on her clothes, she drained the bathtub. She put on some lotion and walked outside, turning off the bathroom lights. Jumping on the bed, she set the alarm clock to 4:00 p.m. and set it back on the table. Sakura snuggled into the bed and fell fast asleep.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Sakura sat up and looked at the clock. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. It was 4:00 p.m. She got up and started unpacking everything. She put took out her clothes in her suitcase and put them in the closet in the room. She put her hair "accessories" in the bathroom. She got out the two daggers. She put one dagger under the pillow, hoping no one would look there. She kept the other one with her, hidden from all prying eyes. Once again, she traced her finger on the delicate pattern. When would she have to return it? Who did this belong to?

Her eyes fell on the booklet on the ground. She picked it up and sat in a chair. Opening the book, she started reading it. After all, it was required by the king and the queen. She had to read it, no matter how much she didn't want to. She tried her best to absorb all the information given her. Page after page. Word after word. Finally, she finished reading it. Letting out a sigh, she gently set the book on the desk, by her bed. She dragged her suitcase into the closet and shut it.

"_It's 4:30 already huh? I should just go and walk around the castle. I studied the map in the book, I shouldn't get lost. There is nothing else for me to do after all."_ Feeling giddy for no apparent reason, Sakura got up and grabbed her keys. She walked outside and locked the door. She slipped the key into her pocket and took of in a direction. Smiling, she looked around the castle. Sakura had never seen such a beautiful place. Staring at the pictures, she wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her and everything happened so suddenly. Bam! She bumped into a man. She quickly got up and apologized with her head facing the ground.

"I'm so sorry! I was looking at the pictures and I wasn't looking were I was going," said Sakura frantically. She looked up.

"It's okay," said the man in a scratchy voice. "You can apologize to me by selling me your body," he said while looking at her up and down. His gaze lingered where it wasn't supposed to be.

Sakura looked at him disgustedly and walked away. Before she could, the man's hand shot out and grasped her wrist. His battered and bruised hands scratched her milky skin. She twisted her wrist to break free from him. His grip tightened on her arm, making her wince slightly. Then she remembered her brother's words.

"_Do not show anyone that you can fight until you absolutely need to. In other words, act like you are weak until the situation calls for you to fight."_

This wasn't a situation where she really, really needed to fight. What else could she do instead? Before being able to continue her thoughts, the man grabbed her other wrist and pushed her against the wall. He pinned her arms on the wall.

"I know that you want me, so why are you running away? I know you will enjoy this," he rasped out loud. His breath stunk badly, making Sakura scrunch up her nose.

Her brother told her to act like weak woman. Well, what would a weak damsel in distress do? You guessed right. Scream. That's exactly what Sakura did. She screamed.

"AHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

Quickly, the man put his hand over her mouth to muffle the scream but it was too late. Footsteps echoed off the walls, each footstep getting louder by the second. The man turned toward the sound of the footsteps. Unknowingly, he loosened his hold on Sakura. Sakura took the chance to break free. The man noticed and gripped her wrist tighter then ever before. Then footsteps stopped. The man turned his head to look at who it was… only to be punched in the face. The man crumpled onto the floor, leaning against the wall. Sakura broke free of his grip. She looked at her savior and gasped.

"ONI-CHAN?!?!?!?!?!?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** I bet you thought that it was Syaoran didn't you? This chapter didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to be. How did you think of this chapter? Please review! If there is any kind of contest you might want to see in this story, please feel free to tell me! How do you spell Syaoran's sister's names? I had no clue. Please tell me if I spelled them right! Also, do you have any ideas on how the prince should meet Sakura? If you do, please tell me! Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Thanks you to all of those who have reviewed for this chapter! Thanks to **Hurts 2 b hurt by 1's u luv..., Star Muse, BabieLuvly101, lil.ramen.lover, ccs's cherry blossom, Sarkura, Yiing-fa, HyuugaYingLang, KamichamaKarinLover25**, and **Chimeiteki Ai** for all the suggestions, criticism, and all the help! You guys had a lot of good ideas! I can't use all of the ideas though. Sorry! However, I'm trying to combine some of them.

_Italics stand for thoughts._

**rosedreamer101**: Yep Sakura can fight. She's just not supposed to show anyone that she can, until she really needs to. (command of her brother) LOL! Thanks for the review!

Special thanks to my beta, **Star Muse.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura.

* * *

**Last Chapter:**

_Quickly, the man put his hand over her mouth to muffle the scream but it was too late. Footsteps echoed off the walls, each footstep getting louder by the second. The man turned toward the sound of the footsteps. Unknowingly, he loosened his hold on Sakura. Sakura took the chance to break free. The man noticed and gripped her wrist tighter than ever before. Then footsteps stopped. The man turned his head to look at who it was… only to be punched in the face. The man crumpled onto the floor, leaning against the wall. Sakura broke free of his grip. She looked at her savior and gasped._

"_ONII-CHAN?!?!?!?!?!?"_

**End of Last Chapter**

**

* * *

**

"Kaijuu," was the only thing that Touya said back. He stared at her blankly, not showing any emotions even though he was furious inside.

Sakura glared at him. "I'll get you back with that kaijuu remark but first of all... WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE CASTLE!!!???" shouted Sakura loudly. Her voice echoed off the walls.

"Hey, kaijuu, watch your back," replied Touya in a bored tone.

Knowing what her brother meant, she quickly lifted her arm in the air, elbowing the man behind her, knocking him out. A sound of metal hitting the floor was heard. Sakura guessed that noise was from the knife that he had in his hand. Not even wasting a second, she asked her brother the same question again, trying to force a reasonable and satisfactory answer out of his mouth. "What are you doing in the castle?" She placed her hands on her hip.

"That's for me to know and you to find out yourself," he said in a monotonous voice, teasing her.

"Onii-chan," whined Sakura, desperately wanting to know why he was there.

Touya sighed and replied. "The kingdom needed more guards today with all the ladies coming in the castle. It would be the easiest time to attack. I signed up and I got the job."

Sakura's mouth dropped open. "WHAT!?!" she cried out disbelievingly. Her hands dropped to her sides.

Touya raised him hand and ruffled her sister's hair. "I'll only be here today."

Sakura sighed in relief and closed her mouth. If her brother was going to be here every single day, how was she supposed to survive with him following her every move? She would never be able to do anything, let alone talk to anyone. He was the overprotective brother that she had.

Touya's voice interrupted her train of thoughts. "However, seeing what just happened, I might just sign up for a permanent job here." His eyes glared at the man on the floor.

"Geez, I know how to take care of myself," said Sakura.

"Yeah, I know," said Touya sarcastically. "The man had you pinned against the wall with you screaming for help. Yeah, you absolutely knew how to take care of that situation. You protected yourself very nicely."

"You can't blame me for that," pouted Sakura. "You were the one who told me that I couldn't show anyone that I could fight. You said that way, I would be able to take my opponents by surprise if I ever was attacked and it was a life or death situation where I had to fight back." Silence filled the room. Sakura stuck out her tongue childishly. Without any warning, she stomped on her brother's foot. Touya jumped up, hopping on his good foot while holding the one that she just stomped on.

"OW! What was that for?" he shouted, glaring at her.

"That was for calling me kaijuu again!"

Her brother shook his head and let out a sigh. He set his foot back on the floor. "Anyways, I'll be leaving right now. My shift is almost over."

Sakura's face softened up again. No matter how much her brother annoyed her, she still loved him a lot. In a sad voice she said, "Touya, say hi to mom, dad, and Kaho okay? Tell them that I miss them a lot and that I'm doing great here."

"I'll remember to tell them that. They wanted me to tell you that you should just enjoy your time here and stop worrying about them. They also told me to say good luck to you."

Sakura smiled softly. "Tell them not to worry much about me. I'll be fine."

"Okay."

"Take care of yourself. Tell that to everyone else too. I'll miss you guys."

Sakura stepped forward into Touya's open arms. She gently hugged him back, not wanting to let go of him. Touya let out a small smile for his sister to see. "We'll miss you too," he said. Touya stepped away. He glared at the man on the floor again. He would have punched him in the face and gave him other injuries but then he would be yelled at. He dragged him across the floor like a mop, after picking up the dagger that fell on the floor. He was going to hand him in. He gave one more look behind him, looking at Sakura. She smiled again, and so did he. She laughed for a while, seeing her brother dragging the man on the floor. Soon, Touya faded from her view as he turned around the corner.

Sighing, Sakura went back to her room and shut the door, locking it. She leaned against the door lightly. _"I must stay strong! I can't cry!" _were her thoughts.

Looking at the clock, it was already five. There was only an hour before she had to head down to eat. What was there for her to do in the meantime? **Author's Note:** Star Muse pointed out to me that this story has alarm clocks and etc. when this story is clearly taking place in the past were there weren't any. I didn't notice that before. Sorry! Just pretend that someone invented this already back then. They also invented light bulbs already too. Okay? Thanks!

A knock was heard on her door. "Sakura! It's me, Sora! I'm with Hikari. Do you want to hang out until dinner starts?" Sakura got up quickly and opened the door.

"Come on in!" she said to them happily with a bright smile on her face, masking the pain that she had felt a few seconds ago. It was great to have friends to talk to. It was exactly what she needed to get her mind off of other stuff. Her curious friends walked in and looked around her room, while shutting the door for her.

_"Thank goodness I hid the dagger and the other weapons really well," thought Sakura in her head. "Otherwise... I don't want to even think about what would happen."_

"Your room similar to mine," said Hikari. "Sakura, have you finished unpacking yet?"

"Yeah, I finished awhile ago. How about you guys?"

"We finished too!" they replied at the same time.

Looking at each other, the group of three all burst into laughter.

Sakura invited them to sit on the couches in the room.

"Can you believe how big this castle must be to be able to hold all these rooms? There are around 100 contestants here! If all the rooms are this big...I wonder what kind of rooms the royal families live in," said Sora. There was a dreamy expression on her face as she thought of all the possibilities.

Hikari also had the same facial expression. "Yeah I know. It must be awesome."

Sakura smiled at her two friends. Just like them, she had never seen such a big room. All her life, she had been living in a small house with her parents and her brother.

They started talking again about some random topics. Time flew by for everyone. Pretty soon, it was almost time for dinner. They headed down to the great hall. **(Author's Note:** I know that I said that they were supposed to eat in the cafeteria. Well, I found out that the great hall is the actual name, I think, for the place where they eat. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Sakura, Sora, and Hikari all sat down somewhere together. Sakura looked around in awe. The great hall was another room that had taken her breath away. There were no words to describe it. What caught her attention the most was the chandelier hanging at the top of the room. Sure, the restaurant that she used to work at also had a chandelier, but it couldn't compare to the one in the palace. It was gorgeous. The light showed thought the crystals, brilliantly lighting up the room. Her eyes roamed to other parts of the room.

The King, sitting in the middle of the room along with the other members of the royal family, cleared his throat, silencing everyone. Sakura focused her attention on him. He spoke loud and clear, so that each and every one of the women could hear.

"We will be calling a few of you ladies over at a time to talk with us. In the meantime, please enjoy the meal that our cooks have prepared." With those short sentences said, the room erupted in loud talking once again. Pretty soon the food came piling out onto the tables. The smell of the food wafted delicately into the air, and the mouthwatering food made Sakura's stomach grumble… Soon, it was time for everyone to eat. Sakura was still looking at the delicious food when both Hikari and Sora on either side of her, elbowed her in the side. Sakura let out a small yelp and looked at her friends weirdly.

"What was that for?" she pouted.

Hikari answered her. "Uh... Sakura. Look at all the utensils we have! I have no clue which one to use and neither does Sora."

Sakura looked at the table. However, she didn't look worried about it.

"Please tell me that you know which one to use, because I have absolutely no clue," whined Sora.

"Well..." Sakura said. When she was little, she remembered going to the library with her mom. She was really bored that day and she had nothing to do. There, she had found a book about princesses, princes, kings, queens, castles... etc. Being that small age she was, she was interested in all the fairytale stories that her mom had told her. She thought the book included a fairytale story and she checked out the book without another thought. Going home happily, she wanted to read the book right away. Sakura remembered that she got on the bed and laid on her stomach while flipping to the first page. For her age, Sakura was a very bright girl and she was able to understand the book. Who knew, the book was all about the history and all kinds of information about the royal family including proper etiquette, how to curtsy, how to greet someone, the different ranks... etc. Thinking back to the memory, Sakura smiled. She must have been really bored to read through that whole entire book.

"Sakura!" shouted Sora. "Are you there?"

Sakrua snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about stuff that happened in the past."

_"Yeah, and who knew that the book that I had read would become useful some day?" thought Sakura._

Hikari walked back to the table. Sakura looked at her in confusion, "When did you get up?"

"Just recently when someone tapped my shoulder, saying that it was my turn to meet the royal family. Didn't you notice?" she replied as she sat back down.

"No not really. I guess I was too absorbed in my thoughts," replied Sakura.

Sora smiled, "Don't worry about that. Now let's eat. It doesn't matter which fork or spoon... or knife that we use. I'm hungry and I want to eat."

"I agree," said Hikari.

There was a small tap on Sakura's shoulder. She turned her head around to face one of the maids that worked in the castle. "Please come with me. It's your turn to see the royal family," said the maid quietly.

Sakura got up, obeying the maid's orders, and looked back at her friends. They gave her a comforting smile. Sakura smiled back and walked to the large table in the middle of the room. Taking a deep breath, she curtsied and greeted the king and the queen. The king smiled and motioned her to sit in the empty chair by him. Sakura gently sat down.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"My name is Sakura," she replied. The queen, who was sitting across from her, looked through many sheets of paper before finally stumbling upon the sheet of paper that she was looking for.

"What is your last name?" she asked gently, offering a small smile.

"Kinomoto."

The queen looked at the sheet and confirmed her name. "I believe that you are 20 years old?" she asked politely.

Sakura answered with a meek, "Yes." She was looking down to her lap were her hands were rested. Her fingers were occupied with the material of her pants. Suddenly, she felt self conscience. Everybody else at the table was wearing all these beautiful clothes while hers were made out of rags.

"Child, please lift up your head so we can see your face," said Yelan. Sakura felt her face heat up. She mumbled a quiet apology to her. Lifting her face up, she heard a few "kawaii's" from a few people at the table. Once again, Sakura blushed.

"We just wanted to talk face to face with every contestant today. That's why we called everyone over. Well, how is your first day at the castle?" asked the King in an attempt to start a conversation.

Sakura gave a soft smile. "At times I still miss my home but I do like the castle. It is very interesting and beautiful." They talked for a while longer before sending her back to eat.

"Hmm... Well, here is something. It says something on her sheet. It looks like as if she has already made a good impression on someone," said Yelan.

"Mother, what are you talking about?" asked Sheifa curiously.

Fanren explained to her. "Remember where we allowed everybody in the castle to be able to tell us what they thought of the contestants?"

Fuutie continued to explain for her. "If they did anything that was kind or anything that they think deserves credit, they tell us and we record it. In the end, they get points for these."

"I remember now," said Sheifa.

"If they do something really bad, they could also get points deducted," said Feimei.

Yelan looked at the sheet again. "Well, she said thank you to one of the people who checked her in. It's not much but I don't believe many of the girls here did that."

"So son, what do you think about this girl?" asked King Xing Li.

Syaoran merely looked up from his plate and glared at his father. "You asked me the same exact thing for every single girl and my answer is the same. I think all women are all gold digging..."

"Enough, I don't want to hear another word," said Xing strictly. "You didn't even pay attention or look at the girl and yet you call her a gold digger.

"Oh puh-lease. So you think that your mom, your sisters, and Tomoyo are gold diggers and... whatever else you think they are, too?" asked Eriol, looking up from the plate of food that he was eating.

Syaoran glared at him and glared. "No."

"They are women too, are they not?" asked Eriol.

"They are women but they aren't like everyone else," replied Syaoran stubbornly.

Eriol let out a sigh. It was helpless. Nothing he said or did would ever change Syaoran's mind.

Tomoyo spoke. "I think that girl named Sakura was a really cute girl. She seemed really nice too."

"I know!" squealed Feimei.

The group of 5 girls all started squealing as they complimented her. They quieted down as another girl was called over. Nothing much happened after that.

Later on, Sakura was in her bedroom already lying on the bed, dressed in her thick, white nightgown that was decorated with cherry blossoms. She closed her eyes and turned around again, trying to sleep. No matter how soft and comfortable it was, for some reason, she just couldn't fall asleep. Instead, thoughts of her family kept drifting into her mind. Frustrated, Sakura sighed and got up. She took a look at the clock. It was only 3:00 am. The sun wasn't even up.

She put on a simple pair of shoes and grabbed her keys. Shutting the door, she locked it. Slowly, she walked down the hallway, making sure that she wouldn't wake anyone up. Walking around for a while, she found the door to the garden. She had already memorized the map of the castle so she wouldn't get lost. Opening the door, Sakura stepped outside. Immediately, the air rushed against her face. She shut the door and set her keys on the ground. She took off her shoes and put them right next to her keys.

Smiling, she ran out into the meadow full of flowers, the moonlight guiding her way. She felt the grass and the warm dirt below her feet. The warm wind gently blew against her, bringing the fragrance of all the flowers to her nose. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes and twirled around. Sakura found a large rock that went up to her waist. She sat on the rock and closed her eyes. There was a gentle smile on her face. Unknown to her, another person was also in the garden, staring curiously at her. Someone named Syaoran Li.

At first, he was the only one in the garden. He sat by the cherry blossom tree just looking at the garden, trying to forget everything that was going on. He just went into the garden to relax. Then, someone had opened the door to the garden and walked in and disturbed the silence. Syaoran decided quickly that he would get up and hide behind the tree. He would be lying if he said that the female intruder didn't make him curious.

"_I had never seen her around. We haven't hired anymore maids or anything so she must be a girl from the contest. But…What is she doing here? Why is she in the garden instead of sleeping?" thought Syaoran silently._

He saw the girl sit on the rock in front of him and close her eyes. He took another look at her. Her shining, wavy hair flew gently in the air. The corners of her lips tilted into a smile. She looked innocent. Not something that you could find in women these days.

"_Then again, it's probably one of those girls who act all innocent. I have to admit, she is breathtaking but she's the same as every girl out there, excluding my family. Why am I thinking about this again?"_

He couldn't see her very well in the dim moonlight so it was most likely that he wouldn't be able to recognize her if he did see her in the contest. Hearing her move, he quickly hid behind the tree again so she wouldn't be able to see him. Few seconds later, he moved his head so he could see what she was doing. She was walking back into the castle. The door shut and Syaoran moved away from the tree.

He sat back down by the cherry blossom tree and once again tried to relax. After all, he would have a long, long day ahead of him.

Meanwhile, Sakura had laid back down onto the bed and tried to fall asleep. It seems as if going to the garden had helped her relax and get rid of all her thoughts because not a second later, she had drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

**Author's note:** What did you think of this chapter? Any critique? Review please! Thanks you to those who have reviewed last chapter!

**Star02**

**epobbp**

**Hurts 2 b hurt by 1's u luv...**

**tohru6991**

**tennislover431**

**Star Muse**

**BabieLuvly101**

**rosedreamer101**

**lil.ramen.lover**

**ccs's cherry blossom**

**Sarkura**

**Yiing-fa**

**HyuugaYingLang**

**Winterkaguya**

**Cherry Akira Li**

**SnowCharms**

**KamichamaKarinLover25**

**dilly-sammas luver**

**AngelEmCuti**

**duckygoesroarrr**

**Chimeiteki Ai**

**AkitoxXxSana46**

**WolfGirl15**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** In the last chapter, I didn't make it clear whether or not Touya was going to keep on working in the castle. Well, he isn't. Sorry for all the confusion! Thanks for all the reviews!

_Italics stand for thoughts_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura

Special thanks to **Star Muse** for editing my story! She helped me out with a lot of stuff. Also, I want to thank **KamichamaKarinLover25** for helping me out with a lot of stuff too. Last but not least, one of my friends had helped me too! Thanks you guys!!!

* * *

**Last Chapter:**

Meanwhile, Sakura laid back down onto the bed and tried to fall asleep. It seems as if going to the garden had helped her relax and get rid of all her thoughts because not a second later, she had drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

**End of last Chapter

* * *

**

The sunlight streamed through window casting a glow on everything in the room. A yawn filled the room as the girl sat up on the bed. Her hands reached into the air as she stretched. Slowly, she looked around the room in confusion. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. Finally, she remembered that she was now in the castle, competing with everyone to be the prince's wife. A sigh was let out as she thought of the miserable times ahead of her. She got and went into the bathroom to refresh herself. Afterwards, she walked out the door and walked into the great hall where she was going to eat. It was just as noisy as yesterday. Excitement filled the room.

Sakura turned her head as soon as she heard her name called. "Sakura! I'm over here!" shouted Hikari. She searched around the room for her friend. Hikari was actually only a few feet away from her, it turned out.

Sakura quickly walked toward where she was. "Hi Hikari," she replied cheerfully.

"Hi Sakura, how are you?" said Hikari.

"Fine, you?"

"I'm great, as usual. So…where is Sora? Breakfast is almost starting."

"Uh… I don't know either," said Sakura.

The two girls looked around the room trying to spot a familiar face in the crowd of girls. They both saw Sora talking to another girl with shoulder length blonde hair at the table next to the one where they were at. They walked toward her.

"Sora!" they shouted in unison catching her attention. Sora whipped her head toward the direction where she heard her name. As soon as she saw her friends, her face lit up with a large grin on her face.

"Perfect timing you guys!" she shouted while waving her arms wildly in the air. The blonde haired girl that was standing next to her turned around and gave them a small smile. She introduced herself.

"Hi! I'm Miyu! Nice to meet you guys!" she said cheerfully.

Sakura stared into her striking blood red eyes. She introduced herself.

"Hello, my name is Sakura," she said with the same amount of enthusiasm. Even though Sakura had just met her, she felt that they would become good friends.

"My name is Hikari," Hikari said softly.

Sora spoke, trying to explain everything to her friends. "Her room is right next to mine. We met this morning and we just started talking."

"I hope to get along with everyone," said Miyu while giving a large grin, beaming at everyone. Her hands were clasped together behind her back.

"Well, where would you guys like to sit?" asked Sakura noticing that most people were already seated.

Miyu lowered her head. She brought her hands in front of her and twiddled her fingers nervously. "Um…Uh…Can I sit with you guys?"

"Of course," replied Sakura. "Why wouldn't we let you sit by us?" Miyu looked up from her hands with another bright smile on her face.

"Thank you!!!"

"No problem," replied Sakura.

"Do you guys want to sit over there?" asked Hikari suddenly, pointing off into the distance. The table was occupied with only a few people. It was located in the back of the room near the balcony. Everyone was okay with it so they walked to the table and sat down. The other girls who sat at the table took no notice of them.

"It's a really nice seat here," commented Sora.

"It really is, isn't it?" replied Miyu happily. The glass doors of the balcony were pulled aside letting in the warm breeze of a summer morning come in. The sunlight showing brightly on the table lit everything up.

"It feels really nice here too," said Hikari in a soft and delicate voice, smiling as she felt the small breeze play with her hair.

Meanwhile, Sakura was in a complete different world. She had her elbow on the table with her arm in an upright position. Her tilted head was resting gently in the palm of her hand. She looked out the balcony, admiring the beautiful color of the sky. The wispy clouds were nice and fluffy, floating around in the light blue sky. The light from the sun bounced off the clouds, making the clouds look pure white. Outside, a few birds flew by chirping merrily. The small warm breeze tickled her skin and brought in the delicate smell of a summer day. It felt really nice.

"Sakura!" shouted Sora loudly, who was leaning across the table waving a hand in front of her face. Sakura jumped up in shock and apologized quickly.

"Sorry!"

"It's alright. You just looked like as if you were lost in your own world," dismissed Sora with a small wave of her hand.

"What were you guys talking about again?"

"Nothing really important," replied Miyu.

"Hey, you! You filthy peasants!" shouted a girl at their table. Sakura sighed quietly as the peace was interrupted. They turned their heads to look at what was happening. They realized that the other girls were talking to them.

"Hey, isn't that Midori?" asked Sakura recognizing one of the faces. "Isn't she the one who was in the same carriage as us?"

"Huh?" asked Miyu. Hikari started to explain the whole entire story to her. Meanwhile, Sora was getting pretty mad. Her forehead crinkled as her eyes turned into small slits. She glared at the girls. Even though her friends may not want to insult them but she wasn't the one to hold back. She wouldn't just stand on the side and watch them insult everyone. The fury inside of her built up. She had to let it all out.

This time the one who spoke was Kotone. "Hey, you ugly and filthy peasants! You guys are so ugly we can't even stand sitting at the same table as you guys so move to a different table!"

Sora clenched her teeth. It was all too much. She was about to burst with all the fury inside of her. She opened her mouth and was about to retort but someone beat her to it.

"You guys are so ugly we can't even stand sitting at the same table as you guys, so move to a different table," mocked Miyu. Her personality was completely different from her cheerful one from before.

"Why you!" shouted Midori.

"Why you!" said Miyu in a super high pitched voice, mocking her once again. She spoke in a cold voice, "Why do we have to move? Why don't you?"

"Cause you're filthy peasants!" screamed Midori frustrated.

"Y-y-yeah, and if you don't, we'll tell our parents and make sure that you wish that you never would have messed with us!" stammered Kotone, clearly at a loss of what to say.

"I am _soooo_ scared of you guys, please don't hurt me," said Miyu in a sarcastic voice. Her cheerful attitude was gone. In place of it was the sarcastic and cold Miyu.

"Hah! I told you that you were going to be scared now move!" said Kotone smugly with her arms folded across her chest, not getting the sarcasm. She stuck her nose proudly in the air.

This time, Sora got a chance to speak. "Apparently, you did hear the sarcasm in her voice. Also, don't call us ugly peasants while you are no better than us! You-"

"Don't you dare say anything about us!" shouted Midori furiously.

Sora said, "Then don't say anything about us…"

"…and we won't say anything about you," finished Miyu. She was getting pretty mad too.

This time, things started getting out of hand. Midori and Kotone got up from the table and started rushing to them while trying to not trip over their ridiculous dresses. Being born in a noble family, they didn't learn how to control their anger. They always got what they wanted and the people who made them mad would always suffer. Their fists were raised weakly in the air, about to attempt to hit the two girls.

"STOP YOU GUYS!!!" shouted Sakura, halting everyone. Everyone at their table got silent. "Okay, now everyone listen up and stop fighting! This is getting a little out of hand so everyone, STOP! Using violence and hurtful words won't help anyone. I know you guys must have already heard this a billion times," Sakura said all in one breath. She breathed in deeply before she continued. "Okay, now, we don't have to like each other but why don't we just try to get along?" she offered kindly, giving a gentle smile at everyone. No one talked for a few seconds.

Suddenly someone spoke. "Why would we want to get along with people as lowly as you?" asked Midori in a snobbish voice turning her head away.

Sora and Miyu and were about to say something back but Hikari interrupted them. She spoke in a delicate and calm voice, "Come on you guys. Stop fighting. Sakura is right. Besides, are they really worth our time? Just ignore them and don't talk to them."

They all calmed down and sat back down. Midori and Kotone gave up and moved to a different table. Before they did that though, they had said one more thing. "There is no way that the prince will choose anyone of you. One of us is sure to win so there will be no chance for you guys. Just watch us. We'll prove it."

They found the prince a few feet away and shouted out his name. He was standing a few feet from the other side of the balcony. "PRINCE SYAORAN!" they screamed like two little fan girls, which they probably were. He looked their way, looking very irritated, wondering what they wanted.

Making sure that that the other girls were also looking at what was about to happen, or what they thought was going to happen, Midori and Kotone walked toward him pouting their blood red lips and swaying their hips back and forth a little bit too much… way too much.

"_Now who or what does that remind me of?" thought Sakura. "Oh yeah! That reminds me of my boss."_

Suddenly, a small giggle erupted from her mouth. She clasped her hand over her mouth to stop the oncoming laughter. She just remembered the scene with her boss. It was when her boss had tripped over her feet when she was trying to attract the men. Sakura couldn't control it anymore. Her soft laughter filled the air. The prince looked her way. At first she didn't notice his gaze. Her hand, that was once covering her mouth, was now clutching her stomach that hurt from all the laughter. Her eyes were shut tightly. She couldn't stop laughing. Syaoran looked at her with his piercing stare, yet she still didn't notice.

"_Uh, okay. What is it with those two girls who are walking weirdly toward me? Are they drunk or something? It sure looks like it with they way there walking. And what is with that girl over there that's laughing? What is there for her to laugh about? Wait, she seems familiar. Who is she? I think I have seen her somewhere." _The prince tried to remember where he had seen her. He stopped his train thoughts. _"There are a hundred people here. Of course someone's going to look familiar."_ Syaoran saw the girl that was laughing, raise her head. Her laughter immediately stopped as soon as their eyes made contact. _"Emerald…" _was the last thought that he had before he heard his dad call his name. Looking away, Syaoran walked toward the direction he heard his name being called, wondering what his father wanted.

As for Sakura, she instantly stopped her laughter as soon as she noticed the prince's gaze on her. Their eyes suddenly met. Her ears blocked out all the noise. It seemed as if all noise in the air had gone away. The room was completely silent… to her at least. His stare pulled her in. It was a cold stare that chilled her to her bone. His eyes were so emotionless. It was as if he was an empty egg shell. His eyes were amber, tinted with a few specks of bright gold. Or… was it just the sun that made it look that way? The prince looked away suddenly and she felt herself let out a breath that she was unconsciously holding. The sound of everyone talking filled her ears again. To her, the eye contact they shared had lasted minutes while it had truly only lasted for a few seconds.

"_What was with his piercing glare? His eyes are so emotionless. No wonder I stopped breathing. But… how can anyone stare at you with those kinds of eyes? His eyes are beautiful yet somehow…his eyes are so…so….empty and void of anything. But…why? What made him like that? To make your eyes look as if you lost all your emotions, what happened? Is it just a façade or did something really happen?" thought Sakura._

"Hey, Sakuraaaa! You there?" asked Sora. "You've been spacing out a lot and staring off into nowhere. You okay?"

Sakura shook her head to get rid of her thoughts as she focused her attention back to her friends. "Ah, sorry. I don't know what happened."

"Okay, first thing is first. I'm sorry about bursting. It's just that I'm not the one to be quiet when someone insults my friends," said Sora quietly, avoiding everyone's eyes.

"Me too," said Miyu meekly. "I'm sorry about that. I'm usually really cheerful and hyper but I get mad pretty easily."

Sakura smiled, "Don't worry about that. I don't blame you guys. You were only trying to stand up for us."

"Hey Sakura, what were you laughing about?" asked Hikari curiously, remembering what had happened.

"Oh about that, I just remembered something that happened in the past," said Sakura as she let out another small laugh. "Speaking of that, what happened to Midori and Kotone?"

"Ah, after they lost the prince's attention they walked away," replied Miyu. "It was kind of weird… yet funny I have to say. You should have seen the prince's expression when he saw those two girls walking toward him like that."

Before any of the girls could say anything else, the king's loud voice boomed through the air, vibrating and bouncing off the walls. Soon the loud chatter disappeared. There was a hushed silence while everyone was waiting for the mighty king to speak.

"Good morning ladies. I hope that everything went okay for everyone yesterday. It's nice to see and talk to everyone again. As for today, we will start the day by eating breakfast. Then we will begin the first competition which is going to be about embroidery. Lady Tomoyo will be hosting this."

An elegant lady stood up from the table where the royals sat. Her soft but powerful voice carried throughout the room. "Hello, everyone. My name is Tomoyo Hiiragizawa. I will be hosting the embroidery contest. During this contest, I will be giving you a sheet of fabric that has your name on the bottom left corner. You may choose to do whatever you want to embroider on there. Be as creative as you want to be. I will tell you more information about this as soon as everyone finishes eating." She gracefully sat back down in her chair.

The king nodded to her and stood back up. "Alright, I just want to clear some things up. Most of these contests that take place will not have a winner. Instead, you will be given a score. However, if you do something that displeases anyone of us, we have the right to deduct some of your points. Whoever has the highest score in the end after all the contests will marry my son. Please enjoy your breakfast and good luck to everyone."

"Embroidery, huh? I'm not exactly the best at that," said Sora nervously.

"I'm sure you'll do perfectly fine," reassured Sakura. The plates of food were being set out onto the table as everyone started eating. The air was filled with nervousness. After all, the first contest was about to start.

Soon, everyone finished eating. Tomoyo led everyone to a room that was filled with little desks and chairs. On each desk was a sheet of fabric, scissors, different assortments of needles and threads, and other needed items.

"Please find your name and sit at the desk. All of these are put in alphabetical order to make everything easier," said Tomoyo. She sat at the big table in the front of the room as everyone scrambled to find their seats.

Right after everyone was seated, Tomoyo spoke again. "Once you are finished with embroidering the piece of fabric I gave you, you may come up here and get another piece of cloth from me to embroider on. Either that or you can just sit quietly. After everyone is done, you will hand your creation in. If you had embroidered more than one piece of fabric, you may keep those and just hand in your best one to me. Please begin."

With that said, everyone began to work. Sakura sat at the desk, wondering what she should do. She was stuck. What would be interesting enough for her to do? She closed her eyes as she brainstormed different ideas. An image of the little secret place that she had suddenly appeared in her mind. She was going to embroider the secret place in the park that no one knew about. Well…The dagger that she had found there gave her proof that she wasn't the only one who knew about the place. It wasn't her secret anymore. Someone else knew about it.

Sakura was broken out of her thoughts as she heard someone scream. It was one of those "high class" ladies. It seemed like as if the woman had accidentally pricked herself with the needle. Making a big fuss about it, the woman slammed the stuff onto the floor and knocked everything off the desk as a few more screams of pain and frustration left her mouth.

"I'm sorry but I have to deduct points from you," said Tomoyo calmly as she waved to a servant to bring in a first aid kit. "This kind of behavior is unacceptable. Please, continue embroidering everyone."

Sakura went back to work. Picking a bright yellow colored thread for the sun, she estimated on how much she needed and cut the string with the scissors. She inserted the thread through the eye of the needle and pulled it through and knotted the end. Starting at the top right corner of the cloth, she started making a bright yellow sun. Her fingers delicately moved the thread and the needle in and out of the cloth.

She thought about what her secret place looked like. She thought about the bright shinning sun, the clear blue sky, the white puffy clouds, the beautiful sakura trees, the shimmering pond, the green grass, the beautiful flowers scattered everywhere. It felt like she was truly back in that place. It truly felt as if she could feel the nice breeze and warm sun shinning on her. She could even smell the fragrance in the air. There was a small serene smile on her face as she remembered the peaceful place.

Without noticing, she finished. Still smiling, she lifted up the sheet of fabric and took a look at it. Suddenly, a frown appeared on her face. Although the masterpiece was beautiful, there was something wrong with it. It… just didn't seem right. Looking at it, Sakura tried to figure out what was wrong. Not one stitch was out of place. It was nicely done and the colors looked right. What was wrong with it? Finally, she noticed her name at the bottom of the cloth in dark bold letters. It contrasted with the light and happy feeling that it gave you.

An idea popped into her head. All she had to do was to get rid of the dark lettering of her name. She could just embroider her name again in a much lighter color and in a fancier handwriting. Flipping the fabric over, she cut the strings and got rid of them. Sakura chose a light pink color, similar to the color of a sakura blossom. Carefully, she did her name in a fancier way. After she finished, she lifted it up and admired her work. She was completely done and satisfied with it. Setting it down, she went up to the front of the room to get another sheet of fabric from Tomoyo, making sure not to disturb the other working girls.

Quietly, Sakura spoke. "Um…Hiiragizawa-sama, may I please get another sheet of fabric?"

Tomoyo, who was staring down at the desk at the sheets of paper before her, looked up in surprise. "Are you done already?"

"Yes."

"During this contest, I will be judging by quality not quantity."

"I understand. Thank you for telling me," said Sakura politely.

Tomoyo gave her a smile and gave her another piece of fabric. "Would you like to hand in the one that you completed?"

"If I can. Thank you." Sakura brought the fabric in her hand to her desk. She brought the completed one back.

"Thank you," said Tomoyo.

"You're welcome. Thank _you_," replied Sakura with a smile.

Tomoyo returned the smile. This girl was really polite and kind. "You're welcome."

Sakura walked back to her desk and began on the second piece of cloth. Tomoyo lowered her head to take a look at what the girl had done. Her mouth dropped open. She quickly snapped her jaw shut before anyone noticed.

"_How on __earth__ did this girl finish this within such a short time? This…it's perfect! Everything is so detailed and realistic, it's like as if I'm standing in it! There are no words to describe its beauty!"_ Tomoyo looked up from the piece of cloth and stared at the girl disbelievingly. She looked back down at the masterpiece in her hands. _"Honestly, how was the girl able to get this done within such a short amount of time!?! This… HER SKILLS RIVAL MINE!!! This is a masterpiece! It's completely perfect! I have to show this to everyone! How come I never heard of her?" _Tomoyo looked at the bottom of the cloth._ "So her name is Sakura Kinomoto."_

Unaware of the affect her creation had on Tomoyo, Sakura was busily moving the needle and thread back and forth across the cloth. Skillfully, she moved her hands quickly, creating another design. This time, it was very simple. She put her name in the same pink fancy handwriting on the bottom right-hand corner of the cloth. Sakura blossoms were scattered all around. It was simple yet pretty. After she finished that one, she went up to the front of the room to ask for another sheet of fabric. Tomoyo was surprised again at how fast Sakura was able to finish so quickly. After a while, everyone finally finished their first ones. Some were able to finish their second or third one. Sakura had finished way more than anyone else.

After everyone was dismissed, Tomoyo immediately walked out of the room carrying the box filled with all the embroidered cloths. She resisted the urge to run through the hallways. After finally reaching her destination, she quickly signaled the guard to open the door. Tomoyo walked into the room as the door creaked open. Walking toward the four Li sisters and the queen, Tomoyo dropped the box onto the floor. The large wooden doors closed behind her with a small click.

"You won't believe this!" she yelled, happy that she could finally blurt out the words that she desperately wanted to say. "There's a girl here who's just as talented as me in embroidery!!!" A bright smile adorned her face as Tomoyo beamed brightly at the women in the room. "Her name is Sakura Kinomoto!"

"Oh, you mean that super cute little girl that we saw the other day during dinner?" squealed Fanren.

"Yep," nodded Tomoyo happily.

The girls squealed as Yelan just started at them. _"These girls will never change," thought Yelan.

* * *

_

**Author's Note:** Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review!!!!!

Thanks to the reviewers who reviewed last time! Your reviews keep me motivated!

**BabieLuvly101**

**Storyteller of dimensions**

**AngelEmCuti**

**winterkaguya**

**Nightmares of Love**

**rosedreamer101**

**amey27**

**Bacaforeva**

**lil.ramen.lover**

**WolfGirl15**

**ccs's cherry blossom**

**KamichamaKarinLover25**

**epobbp**

**hamxham**

**AkitoxXxSana46**

**ffgirl-07**

**tennislover431**

**Daniela93sweet**

**SnowCharms**

**StarAngel02**

**redo-chan**

**MULAN-IFUWEREGAY**

**Neco-chan**

**digi-gal-rox**

**Sakura-chan Master of the Clow**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Slow updates again… sorry! Well anyways, finally! I got the chapter out! Thanks to **star muse** my beta! Also, thank you **mangalvr** and **KamichamaKarinLover25** for helping out!

_Italics stand for thoughts._

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura

**Last Chapter:**

"_You won't believe this!" she yelled, happy that she could finally blurt out the words that she desperately wanted to say. "There's a girl here who's just as talented as me in embroidery!!" A bright smile adorned her face as Tomoyo beamed brightly at the women in the room. "Her name is Sakura Kinomoto!"_

"_Oh, you mean that super cute little girl that we saw the other day during dinner?" squealed Fanren._

"_Yep," nodded Tomoyo happily._

_The girls squealed as Yelan just started at them. "These girls will never change," thought Yelan._

**End of Last Chapter**

"NO! I refuse to!!" shouted an angry prince as he stormed across the room. His amber eyes were lit up dangerously. "Why do I have to spend time with those women?!"

"Syaoran," said Yelan as she sighed deeply, "You have to spend some time with those girls. It's a part of the contest too. You only have to spend 15 minutes with each of them. That's not that much."

"When you add them all together it is. There are around 100 people here. Spending 15 minutes with all of them will be wasting 1500 minutes of my time! That's spending 25 hours with them!"

"It's not like you have to hang out with them constantly. It's only during free time, dinner, breakfast, lunch, and all those other hours," reasoned the king, trying to calm his son down. "You only have to talk to one girl at a time too."

"You know what? Since you've just about planned out every second of my life, why don't you just go ahead and do whatever you want!?" Syaoran shouted, slamming the door behind him.

Yelan slumped down into her chair. "What…are we going to do?" The question was left unanswered. Silence greeted the distressed royal couple.

Meanwhile Sakura was writing a letter to her family. She didn't want her family to worry so she had written a few lies even though she didn't want to.

_Dear Mother, Father, Touya, and Kaho,_

_I miss you guys a lot! I really want to be home again. The castle is very nice though. Everyone in the royal family is really kind. They are all very lively. I have made many new friends too. Everyone gets along here. Status doesn't even matter at all. We are all like sisters. Life is really nice. We had our first "contest". It was about embroidery. I think it was pretty easy._

_So how are you guys doing? Be sure to take care of the garden! I forgot to tell you that before I left. Oops...Anyways, I hope everything is well. I would come back but the fee is too expensive. Oh, by the way, I told you where the money I saved up was. Remember to use it carefully. Hopefully it'll last. I think it will. )_

_Well, I have to head off to lunch soon so I'll end this letter here. I'm sorry it's so short. I miss you. Love ya guys! Bye!_

_Love,  
Sakura_

She folded the letter and carefully stuck it inside the small white envelope. Quickly she wrote on the front of the envelope, in nice and fancy handwriting, the address of her home. While licking the envelope shut, she scrunched up her face at the bitter taste on her tongue.

"Yuck," she mumbled childishly to herself. Sighing, she brought the envelope with her to the large metal box in one of the rooms of the large castle. The king was kind enough to let everyone write letters to their families. He would take care of all the sending fees and stuff too. Slowly, she let the white envelope drop into the box. Sighing, she headed to lunch.

Not much happened that day. The king had announced that the prince would be spending 15 minutes with each of them. They would be going in alphabetical order and someone would notify them when it was time for them to meet the prince. For the rest of the days, until further notice, they would be able to roam the castle freely, as long as they didn't mess with anything. Guards were packed tightly around the castle to ensure everything was alright.

Sakura roamed curiously around the large hallways by herself. Girls here and there were chatting excitedly about this and that. Soon, Sakura walked into a part of the castle no one was occupying. The place was deserted. Curiously, she walked up to a large heavy door and gently turned the doorknob. A click was heard. She pushed gently, causing door to groan loudly. Sounds of swords clattering suddenly stopped as the two men in the room looked curiously toward the unexpected newcomer. Sakura lowered her head and blushed, noticing that she was interrupting something.

"S…sorr…sorry!!" she finally blurted out embarrassedly.

A laugh was heard throughout the air. Sakura blushed even more. She lifted her head slowly, noticing that it was a training room. She met eye to eye with two handsome young men. One had messy golden hair and yellowish gold eyes. He had a bright smile on his face. The other had long, silver hair and matching piercing eyes. Sakura gasped at the sight before her, and her hands flew up to her mouth as she recognized the two men.

"Yue? Kero?" she asked uncertainly. She couldn't believe it! Was it truly them? Unconsciously, she stepped inside the room. The door slowly squeaked shut. However, no one paid attention.

Kero's smile brightened even more. "Sakura?" he asked, making sure of whom she was. The silver haired man, Yue, stared at her in surprise.

Slowly, Sakura nodded her head.

"We haven't seen you since you were 12!!" shouted Kero as he ran across the room and engulfed Sakura in a warm comforting hug. Sakura laughed with joy.

Sakura shouted out, "It's really you guys! It's really you! Where have you've been all these years? Do you know how much I was thinking about you two? It's really you! This isn't a dream is it? Is it?"

Yue smiled gently. "No, otherwise I'd be having the same dream. You haven't changed a bit… Personality wise that is. You're still all cheerful as usual. All bubbly and happy. You've grown quite a lot though. The last time I remembered you, you were really short and Touya kept calling you "shrimp" every chance he got." He ruffled her hair as Kero laughed.

"Hey!" shouted Sakura pouting even though she was smiling on the inside.

"You've grown prettier too!" remarked Kero as he spun her in a circle.

"My, my, Kero. I never knew you had those kinds of feelings for our cousin," commented Yue sarcastically. "Beware of Touya. He'll go chasing after you with a broomstick in his hand."

Kero stuck his tounge out childishly. "Speaking of Touya, how's my dear little grouchy cousin?"

"He's my cousin too you know," said Yue. "How are Aunt Nadeshiko and Uncle Fujitaka?"

"They are all good!! Everyone's alright. They'll be so glad to hear that you're back!!" shouted Sakura enthusiastically. Suddenly her smile faltered as a frown replaced it. "Why didn't you tell us that you were leaving? All you left was a note saying all these things. Suddenly you come back and you don't even tell us!" There was a long uncomfortable pause in the room. "Never mind about these things," said Sakura as she waved her hand in the air as if she was slapping a fly. She took in a deep breath and smiled gently. There was no way she was going to make this reunion with her cousins a sad one filled with uncomfortable questions. Her cousins must have had their own reasons and there was no need to make everyone feel guilty and upset. "All it matters is that you're back safe and sound. I'm really surprised, you know. With you coming back and everything…" She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I'm blabbering, I'm just really excited that you're back. But…why are you guys in the castle, of all places?"

Yue and Kero gave each other a quick glance. "Well, I can see that you're a candidate for this contest," said Kero, trying to change the topic.

Sakura paused. Her smile had faded again. Why was there so much they didn't want to tell her? Why did it seem as if they were so far away, even though they were so close? Forcing another smile on her lips she spoke.

"Yep, it's kind of obvious isn't it?"

"I can imagine that you had thrown a fit when you had found out about this," predicted Yue.

"You bet! I was really, really mad," said Sakura. "I couldn't believe it! Of all things, the prince was hosting a contest to find himself a perfect wife. He doesn't even put others into thought! He didn't even care about the fact that some people had to leave their families when they were needed…"

"Actually," interrupted Yue. "He is the one who opposed this contest."

"What do you mean?"

"His parents and his relatives were the ones who organized all of this. He was completely against all of this."

"Oh," said Sakura.

"Yeah, he has some kind of grudge against the female population. Not including his family or children of course but…" said Kero. "He just refuses to get married to anyone."

"Why?" asked Sakura curiously.

Yue and Kero looked at each other. "Have no clue," they said at the same time. Kero shrugged.

"Anyways, have your fighting skills decreased by any chance?" asked Yue.

"I don't know. I haven't been using them in quite a while. Touya had forbidden it."

Kero laughed. "You would think that he would tell you the opposite and tell you to fight with all your energy."

"This is my brother we are talking about. He doesn't make any sense."

Laughter filled the air at the small comment made by Sakura.

"Anyways, are you still good at fighting?" asked Kero.

"Like I said, I don't know."

"Let's test it out," said Yue, ready for a small fight.

"Uh… guys, Touya has forbidden me to fight unless it's absolutely necessary."

Kero raised an eyebrow. "We're your cousins. He wouldn't care. No one else is in the room to witness your fighting so it doesn't matter." He stuck out his tongue. "Unless you think we're wasting your time and that we aren't worthy opponents?"

"Since when have you've been listening and obeying his orders?" asked Yue.

Sakura thought about it. "Good point." They all laughed again.

"I'll fight first," said Kero. "Weapon or bare hands?"

"Kero, you go ahead and do bare hands and I'll take weapons. You're better at bare hands then me and I'm better at weapons than you," reasoned Yue.

"Alrighty then! Let's get ready to rumble!!"

Sakura laughed. "Idiot."

They got into their fighting positions. However, just then, the door creaked open slowly and a man stepped inside. Quickly Sakura and Kero got out of their positions before the man noticed. They looked toward the door to look at the man stepping in.

"Syaoran?" asked Yue.

"Yep. What are you…" he trailed off. His words stopped as soon as he saw the girl in the room.

Sakura curtsied. "Your highness."

"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.

"Oh, we haven't introduced her to you yet. She's Sakura Kinomoto," said Kero cheerfully.

"_Isn't she the one who Tomoyo was talking about?" he thought._ Syaoran looked at them. "And…"

"Oh, she was just wandering around and we saw her… or more like she saw us," spoke Kero

"So Syaoran, what are you doing here?" asked Yue.

"To train. Anyone up for a small fight?" he asked. Then his eyes landed on Sakura. _"Wasn't she the one laughing the other day?"_

"Oh don't worry about her," said Kero. "She won't do anything harmful. Just let her stay. She can just sit on the chairs in the corner of the room and watch us."

Syaoran had mumbled something out loud. "Whatever. Do what you want." Sakura curtsied again and sat on the chair in the corner of the room.

"I'll go first!!" shouted Kero. "Bare hands?"

"Kay," replied Syaoran. The battle had begun. Sakura sat on the sidelines, watching them fight.

"_Wow… Kero has improved a lot since I last saw him. The prince is pretty talented too. Not talented enough to beat Kero though."_

"Hey, I want to end this," remarked Syaoran after a few minutes of blocking all of Kero's attacks.

Kero sweatdropped. "You mean you were going easy on me this whole entire time?"

"Duh." Quickly Syaoran started attacking back.

"_Wow, his movements are really fast!! Kero's definitely going to lose," thought Sakura._

After a while longer, Kero finally got tired and his blocking movements started getting really sloppy. The prince had left no opening for him to attack. Syaoran sent a really fast punch toward Kero's face and suddenly paused an inch away from his face. Kero backed away. "Wow, you've gotten really strong!"

"My turn," spoke Yue immediately. "Weapon?"

Syaoran nodded as they both picked a sword from the rack. They headed toward the center of the room again. Kero sat down by Sakura.

"He's really strong isn't he?"

Sakura slowly nodded her head, unable to look away from the fight that was currently taking place between him and Yue. She was absorbed.

She spoke to Kero, still not looking away. "He has a lot of good moves and strategies. Each move is packed with power and speed. His defense is really good too," she complimented. "I never imagined that the prince would be this strong. I thought he would be kind of weak. You know, being a prince and all that, having a lot of money, I thought that he was kind of spoiled."

"Are you kidding me? Him? Weak?" Kero laughed. "Wow! I can't imagine it. You know, it's easier to sit here and watch him fight then actually being up there and fighting against him. His moves actually hold a lot more power than you think they do. He's really strong to be able to beat me and Yue. He could probably take down a thousand men by himself. I'm not kidding you. Even though he is;s skinny, haven't you ever noticed his muscles?"

Sakura looked at Syaoran and blushed. You could see his slender muscles with the tight short sleeved shirt that he was wearing for fighting. He wasn't one of those over buff men who were nothing but muscle. His Highness was pretty well in shape and he had a nice body… Sakura blushed even further as soon as she thought of that. _"What's wrong with me!?"_ she thought.

Kero spoke again. "How about you? Have you improved any? I remember when you were little you were able to fight well."

Sakura was glad that she had something else to talk about. "I definitely improved a lot. Even Touya said so. I don't know if I can fight as well anymore. I'm kind of rusty."

"Well, who knows? You just might be able to beat Touya one day. He's really strong; he beat me and Yue in a two on one! Then again, that was before. We've improved a lot you know? Touya's skills are probably just a little below the prince's." Kero droned on and on, not leaving a chance for Sakura to speak. After a while later, a large clatter was heard throughout the large room.

The sword was knocked out of Yue's hand. "You really have improved a lot Syaoran." They put the swords away and walked toward the chairs. Kero handed Yue and Syaoran a towel. "Thanks," they said.

Suddenly a pounding was heard on the door. "Your Highness, are you in there?"

Syaoran quickly shook his head.

Kero spoke. "Was there anything you needed?"

The man outside of the room spoke. "His highness just needed to show up for the first meeting with the ladies. Is he in there?"

Once again, Syaoran shook his head. Yue spoke. "No, I don't believe so. Have you tried the other rooms?"

"I'll go look again. Thank you!" The man's footsteps faded away as he walked farther down the hall. Syaoran let out a small sigh. Suddenly he tensed, noticing that the girl was still in the room.

"I'll be leaving. Thank you," he said rigidly. Why hadn't the girl left the room yet?

"See ya later buddy!" shouted Kero.

"Bye," said Yue.

"Bye." The door opened and shut.

"Well, do you want to continue fighting?" asked Kero after the prince was a long distance away.

"Maybe some other time. I think I should meet up with some of my friends right now. Thanks for the offer. Oh and, you guys are staying in the castle right?"

"Yeah, we'll be here for quite a while," said Yue.

Suddenly Sakura wrapped her arms around both of them. "Please don't leave again without telling me."

Yue and Kero smiled. "Don't worry," said Yue.

"Where can I see you guys?"

"Well, we should be in the training room pretty often this week. You might even see us around the castle," said Kero. "Don't worry. I know that we'll see each other again. If all comes to a fail and you can't find us, feel free to ask the prince. He's actually really, really nice you know? As cold as he sounds, he really cares for everyone. Anyways, if you ask him, he should tell you were we are."

"Kay…."

Sakura walked toward the door and stepped outside.

"Good luck Sakura," said Yue.

"Do your best!" continued Kero.

Sakura turned around to face them. She smiled. "Thank you," she said.

Walking out the door, she walked down the long hallways to her room. Shutting the door, she slouched against it. Unshed tears were angrily blinked back. A painful smile adorned her face.

* * *

**Author's note: **Sorry for the late update!! I stayed up till 2:00 last night and the night before working on this story. I didn't get much done though. Well, anyways, please leave a review and any suggestions if you feel like it! Thank you!

Also, thanks to those who have reviewed!!

**Sakura-chan Master of the Clow**

**digi-gal-rox**

**Cherry Akira Li**

**Daniela93sweet**

**rosedreamer101**

**StarAngel02**

**Nightmares of Love**

**epobbp**

**lil.ramen.lover**

**KamichamaKarinLover25**

**amey27**

**AngelEmCuti**

**Storyteller of dimensions**

**BabieLuvly101**

**brightestoflights**

**breathlessnightxx**

**maehwa**

**SnowCharms**

**mangalvr**

**Magical Defenestration**

**I'd rather be dead then coolXP**

**tennislover431**

**Lily887787**

**XxHeavenly AngelxX**

**Nadja100**

**redo-chan**

**butterflyangellover14**

Reading your reviews make me so happy! Also, thanks to everyone who gave me ideas for the story!!

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** I'm so glad I got so many reviews last chapter! Thank you! Well here is the next chapter. I know this story is still boring but I'll try to spice it up a little. I'm still open to suggestions and critique so please give me some if you can!

_Italics stand for thoughts._

Special thanks to my beta** Star Muse**! Even though she was really busy, she had found time to help me out! Thanks!

* * *

**Last Chapter:**

Sakura walked toward the door and stepped outside.

"Good luck Sakura," said Yue.

"Do your best!" continued Kero.

Sakura turned around to face them. She smiled. "Thank you," she said.

Walking out the door, she walked down the long hallways to her room. Shutting the door, she slouched against it. Unshed tears were angrily blinked back. A painful smile adorned her face.

**End of Last Chapter**

* * *

Joyful laughter filled the air.

"Seriously?" asked Miyu. Her red eyes shone with happiness. Her blond, shoulder length hair fell brushed over her shoulder as she bent forward clutching her stomach. Hikari sat up straight, her shoulders shaking slightly from laughter, causing her long, light silver hair to move along. Her matching, kind eyes stared at Sora, who was telling the story. Sora was leaning forward against the table, her chin length brown hair just barely touching it. Her sky blue eyes were glossy from the tears of happiness and laughter. Sakura was laughing just as hard as everyone. Her hair was put tightly in a bun, and her emerald eyes stared at Sora waiting for her to answer Miyu.

"Seriously!" confirmed Sora, still laughing. "My little brother really did that when he was young. And do you know what else he did when he was younger?"

"What?" asked Hikari, still trying to control her laughter.

"He… he…," Sora laughed, unable to continue. All the girls sat on the edge of their seats wondering what else happened. "I think he was five when he did this, he had a crush on some girl in school. He went home and asked my mom for a rose from the garden. My mom ended up helping him and trimmed off the thorns." Sora paused.

"And then?" asked Miyu, completely absorbed in the story.

"The next day when they were on the playground, he went up to his crush and said…" Sora burst into laughter again. "He said, "Here is your rose, woman, now be my wife." Isn't that hilarious? I don't know where he got that line from!"

The girls broke into fits of laughter. It was a little after lunch, and it was a free day so they could all just hang around. Suddenly, a man dressed formally walked up to them and bowed.

"Ladies," he said, "I believe that the Sakura Kinomoto I'm looking for is right here at this table?"

"Yes, I am Sakura Kinomoto. Is there anything wrong?" spoke Sakura carefully. Everyone at the table grew silent.

"No, nothing is wrong. I do believe that it is your turn to talk to the prince for 15 minutes. Please come this way."

Sakura's smile faded. Was it her turn already? She wanted to talk more to her friends. Slowly, Sakura rose from the chair that she was sitting on. She looked at all her friends. Hikari gave her a nod, Miyu gave her a supporting smile, and Sora mouthed to her, "Good luck!"

Sakura walked away and followed the man down a few hallways into a glass room. He opened the door for her, and she mumbled a quiet thank you, but loud enough for the man to hear. She gazed around, not failing to be awed by the room. The man pulled out the chair out from the small table that furnished the room. Sakura sat down. The man bowed and left silently, right before Sakura thanked him again. He mumbled a short, "You're welcome", surprised. The door shut and Sakura was left alone in the room with the prince sitting right across from her, taking a sip of his tea. Sakura sat in silence, wondering what she should do. She felt nervous from the air that he was giving off.

"_Alright, why isn't the stupid girl talking? Didn't the rest of them start talking immediately?"_

Sakura sipped her tea. "Mmmm! This tea is delicious!" she said happily, forgetting that the prince was still sitting across from her.

He mumbled a short, "Hnnn…" His head was still looking at the sheet on the table that was next to his tea. It was better reading it than even taking one glance at the woman in front of him. Who knew what she would interpret it as? The paper that he was reading was the so called "cheat sheet" that his sisters gave him just incase he didn't have anything to say.

"_Yeah, like I would really want to talk to any of them."_

Sakura gulped, the aura surrounding him scared and unnerved her. The room was also too quiet for her liking.

"_Did I say something wrong? He looks like he's mad at me. All I did was say that the tea was really good. I didn't mean to say anything either. It just… I just kind of spoke out loud on accident. Anyways, what should I do now? I want to get out of here!"_

"Please pardon my manners, Prince Li. I'm sorry if I offended you in any way," said Sakura, a little worried if she really did get someone mad at her.

Syaoran was surprised. _"Prince Li? Wasn't it, "Oh Syaoran!" to them? This was a first. And…offend me…about what?"_

"You didn't," he said curtly, still looking at the papers. _"Women are all stupid."_

Sakura looked at him in confusion. "I didn't what?"

Syaoran kept his anger in check. _"Annoying! Annoying! Annoying! Even though she's probably 100 times better than the other girls who were pestering me, she still so annoying. Can't they just all shut their mouths up?"_ he thought harshly.

"You didn't offend me," he said. In a much quieter voice he spoke, "Yet…You are bound to be just like the other girls."

Being trained with good ears, Sakura had heard him. "Well, if I ever do, please tell me and…What do you mean by, 'Just like the other girls'?" she asked.

Syaoran looked up at her in masked surprise. How could have she heard him? He spoke so quietly it was almost impossible to hear him.

"Wait…" he spoke as he studied her features. "I remember you…You were with Kero and Yue the other day…right?"

"Yes!" she said happily as she remembered her dear cousins.

Syaoran couldn't but help ask another question. His burning curiosity got the better of him. "How do you know them?"

Sakura looked at him. Was the cold prince asking her a question? Unbelievable…"Well, for starters, they are my cousins."

Syaoran carefully swallowed his tea, holding his shock back. They were cousins? "So…" he said furrowing his eyebrows, "You guys…are cousins," he said slowly.

Sakura looked into his amber eyes. Either the light was playing tricks on her or there really were a few beautiful specks of gold here and there. "Yes. They come from my dad's side. Even though they don't look the least bit alike, they are brothers. Speaking of that, exactly what are they doing in this castle?"

For some reason, Syaoran Li found himself replying. Grudgingly replying but still answering her question none the less.

"They are high ranked guards for this kingdom and they are somewhat like generals. I guess you could say they are high ranked generals too. They have all sorts of different jobs and statuses so you really can't put them in any group… didn't you know?"

"No actually, I didn't. They kind of…uh…nothing actually," said Sakura quickly. _"I almost said too much. I don't want to say anything just in case I'm not supposed to. I don't even know half of what's going on so…"__ mused Sakura._

Syaoran just stared at the girl in front of him while she lapsed into silence. He was confused. First this girl doesn't start obsessing and freaking out when she saw him, then she called him Prince Li. She knows Yue and Kero who have high authority and yet she's dressed in clothing that belongs to the poor with no standing. She doesn't wear makeup or any jewelry, she doesn't try to impress him and…

A maid walked in to refill the tea. She poured the tea into Sakura's cup, but as she headed for Syaoran's cup, she accidentally knocked over Sakura's with her elbow.

Sakura winced slightly in pain as the burning hot liquid dribbled onto her scorched hand. The maid quickly apologized. Sakura smiled as she hid her burned left hand behind her without making it obvious. Quickly, with her right hand, Sakura wiped up the mess.

"I am so sorry!!" said the maid frantically.

"Oh don't worry about it. Everything is just fine. I don't even think I got burned. See?" asked Sakura as she lifted her right hand in the air, making sure that her left hand was hidden from the maid's view. Sakura smiled brightly.

The maid sighed in relief. "Thank goodness! I am so sorry about that." She refilled both of their cups and walked back out. The door shut as they both sat in silence.

"So…" said Sakura, talking. She couldn't think of anything to say though, as she paused again.

Feeling somewhat responsible for the injury that the maid had caused, he spoke. "How bad is it?" He was surprised that she didn't scream.

"How bad is what?" asked Sakura, clearing knowing what he was talking about. She was just trying to stall some time.

"Your hand…"

"What about my hand?"

Syaoran was getting aggravated. "How bad is your hand burnt?"

Sakura looked at him confused. She was a good liar and an actress. "It's not burnt. See?" She raised her right hand. "It's perfectly fine."

"And your left?" he inquired.

Sakura lifted her left hand. The wound was on the back side of her hand so she showed him her palm, the front side. "See? Nothing."

Syaoran mentally rolled his eyes. "Do you take me as stupid? Turn your hand over."

Sakura hesitated.

Syaoran spoke deliberately. "It's an order."

Sakura slowly turned her hand around and there it was. It was a large area that was completely red. Syaoran shook his head. "Come with me," he said coldly.

They walked down the hallways together until they got to the infirmary. Syaoran brought her to the back of the room. "Hello, anyone here?" he called out. No one was there. He sighed inwardly as he realized that he would have to help her.

He got out some supplies from the cabinet and told Sakura to wash her hands under cold water and then sit down on the bed. He sat in a chair next to her and told her to hold out her hand. She obeyed.

"It might sting a little," he grumbled. Gently, he applied the paste on her hand. Her hand was warm while his was cold. She blushed slightly when he blew on her hand to soothe the pain. To stop herself from blushing, she spoke.

"Fresh grass, bitter melon, banana, sandalwood bark, the ashes of the tamarind tree, and licorice leaves with a pinch of salt right?" she asked. **(Author's Note: **I'm making this up! Though according to some website, these ingredients do help. However, you don't mix them up with each other. You mix them up with other things instead.**)**

She was right. "How do you know?" he asked in an even tone. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her shrug.

"My head has been drilled with different things whether useful or not," she said. "I can tell what it is by the color and the smell." Carefully, Syaoran wrapped her hand in a white cloth bandage. He stood up to put everything away.

"Come down here every morning and night to apply it for as long as the burn lasts. It should go away pretty soon so you shouldn't have to worry about it. Someone will usually be down here to help. If there isn't anyone then you can put it on yourself. Obviously you recognize the paste." Together in silence, they both walked out the door and back toward the room. As soon as he walked back to the room and opened the door, he was met with a sight of a screaming woman.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S NOT HERE RIGHT NOW!?" She slammed the cup onto the floor. The young maid was trying to calm her down. It was a different maid than last time though. This maid looked only around 8, a young child. Because of the ruckus, neither one noticed that the prince and Sakura were standing by the door.

The maid calmly replied to her. "He's not here in this room right now. I'm sure he will be back in a second. He probably went somewhere to get something."

The lady in the frilly dress screamed. "I DON'T CARE!! GET HIM HERE RIGHT NOW OR ELSE I'LL HURT YOU."

The young maid step back a little, terrified. Sakura stepped forward but Syaoran raised his arm so she couldn't get through. Sakura looked at him confusedly as he shook his head and pointed a finger up to his lips, signaling for silence. Sakura stepped back and obeyed, watching the scene. Syaoran let his arm down.

"But… but… but… But I have no clue where he is," said the maid terrified.

"Do you know who I am? I can easily order my guards to kill your family. I want to see the prince right now."

"I don't know where he is, please don't do anything," she whimpered as she stepped back.

"NOW!!" she screamed as she stood tall over the little maid.

"But…"

A crash was heard the high class woman grabbed the cup on the table and threw it at her. The maid had successfully dodged it and the cup crashed to the ground. Sakura moved forward right after Syaoran had walked a few feet into the room.

He spoke in a loud and cold commanding voice. "You are disqualified for attempting to hurt someone."

The woman looked at him. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT…" As soon as she saw that it was the prince, her voice became sickly sweet. "Syaoran!"

Syaoran grimaced as he heard his first name out of her mouth. She made it sound so ugly. "It's Li. In any case, you are disqualified," he said bitterly.

"But," she whined in a high pitched voice.

"You didn't listen to her "buts" so I'm not going to listen to yours. I heard and saw everything. You are disqualified. Pack up and leave immediately."

The woman suddenly broke down into hysterics. "WHY? WHY? WHY? Am I not good enough? I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!!" She glared at the little girl. The little girl suddenly hid behind Sakura and clenched the back of her shirt in fright. Sakura patted the little girl on the head. She murmured a few comforting words.

The lady pointed at the little girl. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!! ALL YOURS!!" She quickly walked toward them. The child scurried across the room in fright. The woman followed her. Sakura quickly ran after her and stood right in front of the girl after they all stopped walking.

"MOVE!!"

"Please reconsider your actions," said Sakura, not moving. The child was holding on tightly to her.

"I SAID MOVE!!"

"And I said, please reconsider your actions."

Furious, the lady raised her right hand and smacked Sakura straight across the face. Sakura's head turned slightly from the impact. She looked at the person in front of her. "Think before you act."

Furious, the woman lifted her hand for another slap but Syaoran came across the room and stopped her. He gripped her wrist and threw it downwards so that her wrist was next to her body.

She looked at everyone. "Why is my life so miserable?" she forced out.

Syaoran looked at her. "You were the one who made the choices. You are the one who made yourself miserable."

Sakura looked at her as the woman covered her face with her hands. Her shaking shoulders moved up and down with each sob. Sakura felt upset at the scene. She spoke softly. "Life is what you see it as. If you think life is happy, then it is. If you think life is sad, then it is…"

"SHUT UP!! I GET IT!!" she screamed. "I… get it…" she said again, her voice cracking. With that, she ran out the door not looking back.

The little girl pulled on Sakura's shirt. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry!!"

"Ah, don't worry about it!" said Sakura with a forced bright smile. The child smiled back in relief. "Everything's all right now! You can go back to do what you need to do."

"Thank you!" The little girl ran outside, happier than she was. The door shut on its own. Once again, the room filled with the dreadful silence.

"Does your face hurt?" asked Syaoran suddenly. Sakura's occupied mind didn't register the words. She was still thinking deeply about everything that was going on.

Syaoran spoke again in a louder voice. "Does your face hurt?" There was no reply as Sakura kept thinking on and on. She was letting her train of thoughts bring her to a place far away. Syaoran waved a hand in front of her face. Sakura snapped out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry… What did you say?"

"Is your face okay?" asked the prince for the third time in his cold voice.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Thanks."

"Life is what you see if as. If you think it's happy, then it's happy. If you think it's sad, it's sad," said Syaoran as he repeated the words Sakura had said unconsciously.

"Yes, if you truly think your life is happy you will only see happiness. You will begin to see everything good and not only the bad. But…if you only see the bad sides to your life, you will only see a path of sadness. The happiness that you could have had would be buried deeply in your heart." Sakura smiled. "Optimism goes a long way. Knowing that your glass is half full is better than knowing that your glass is half empty."

Sakura paused. "At first, it's hard. After all, we tend to look at what we are missing and lacking. If you really try though, you'll see what you have and no one else has. If all fails, think about the happiness that you can bring people by smiling and laughing with them while acting positive. If you act grumpy all day, they'll become grumpy and sad too. Smile and laughter are both contagious, but so are bad moods. I want to see everyone happy," Sakura smiled. She mumbled the last part so that he couldn't hear. But unknowingly, he heard. "I want to see everyone happy… even if it means sacrificing my own happiness…"

Sakura smiled at him. "You know, you look all mad, unemotional, and mean on the outside, but you are really nice and kind. Thank you for everything! I enjoyed my time with you. Remember to smile! I'm sure that it'll look great on you," she said innocently. Sakura gave him another smile before she walked out of the room and shut the door gently.

She left a surprised and shocked Syaoran Li standing and staring at her retreating back. _"Did she just tell me to smile?"_ he thought incredulously_._ He walked to the table and sat on the chair, leaning back as he thought about what she had said. _"I wonder how long it has been since I've smiled… All that she has said… Why?"_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hopefully this chapter made you somewhat satisfied. Please remember to review! Every time I feel like I'm lacking inspiration or feeling like I don't want to write, reading your reviews make me feel motivated. They let me know that people like my stories and someone's reading them. Thanks everyone!!

Also, feel free to give me as much critique or tips as you want. I'm always looking for some. ) I'm not sure if the relationship between Syaoran and Sakura was moving too fast. Could you let me know what you think in a review?

Thanks to those who have reviewed!

**StarAngel02**

**teenureen**

**winterkaguya**

**lil.ramen.lover**

**kidcoast**

**Lily887787**

**Daniela93sweet**

**mangalvr**

**AngelEmCuti**

**butterflyangellover14**

**Nadja100**

**epobbp**

**rosedreamer101**

**BabieLuvly101**

**I'd rather be dead then coolXP**

**digi-gal-rox**

**KamichamaKarinLover25**

**atem4ever**

**Sakura-chan Master of the C****low**

**WiND G0dd3ss xD**

**tennislover431**

**Kurukus**

**maehwa**

**animelover0328**

**Storyteller of dimensions**

**SnowCharms**

**shi eri**

**redo-chan**

**amey27**

**XxHeavenly AngelxX**

**obsessive me**

**Syaoran Li CCS**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** Wow! All the reviews made me so happy! Here's the next chapter! This chapter was originally around 20 pages. Usually, my chapters are only 8 or 9 pages. I decided to split the chapter into two. That way, my beta wouldn't have to edit something so long and I wouldn't keep you guys reading a long chapter. Well, it does mean that I can post the other chapter up a little early. Also, if you haven't noticed, I chanced my name from **DiamondRose3 **into **XxPink PetalxX**. Yep! : )

_Italics stand for thoughts._

Thanks to my beta **Star Muse**.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura.

* * *

**Last Chapter:**

_Sakura smiled at him. "You know, you look all mad, unemotional, and mean on the outside, but you are really nice and kind. Thank you for everything! I enjoyed my time with you. Remember to smile! I'm sure that it'll look great on you," she said innocently. Sakura gave him another smile before she walked out of the room and shut the door gently._

_She left a surprised and shocked Syaoran Li standing and staring at her retreating back. "Did she just tell me to smile?" he thought incredulously. He walked to the table and sat on the chair, leaning back as he thought about what she had said. "I wonder how long it has been since I've smiled… All that she has said… Why?"_

**End of Last Chapter**

* * *

Hey you guys!" whispered Sheifa in a quiet voice. "Did you hear about what happened?"

The other four girls sitting at the library table looked up from their book in curiosity. They shook their heads in unison, leaning closer so that they could hear about what Sheifa had to tell them.

"I was eavesdropping on all of his conversations with the girls…Anyways, guess what?"

They all leaned a little bit closer, wondering what was so interesting.

"Syaoran had actually asked a girl…What was her name? That cute one that Tomoyo came running in about the other time?"

Tomoyo raised an eyebrow delicately. "You mean Sakura Kinomoto? The one who always has her auburn hair in a bun? She's the one with the emerald eyes."

"Yes, her!" said Sheifa. She could no longer contain her excitement as she blurted out what happen. "Syaoran actually started a conversation with her! He asked her a question!"

Fanren dropped the book in her hands as her warm brown eyes widened in pure shock. "He actually talked?!" she shouted.

At once, Fuutie raised a finger to her lips. "Shhh!!"

"Oops. Sorry!" whispered Fanren. "Seriously though, he actually talked to a member of the female population?"

Sheifa nodded happily. A large grin was on her face. "Can you believe it? Our cold, cute little brother actually talked!"

"I had also heard something…" said Feimei. "…about them."

The girls snapped their heads toward her way. "What did you hear?" they asked eagerly, full of excitement.

"I heard it from a young maid. Early afternoon, she came running toward my way acting all happy. She kept begging to somehow have Sakura win the contest. She said that Sakura had protected her from another woman in the contest, who was about to hurt her. Then she blabbered on and on but I kind of was only listening to half of it," said Feimei sheepishly.

"And…?" asked Fuutie asked, knowing that there was something else.

"The maid said something along the lines of, 'And the prince, he is actually very kind! He walked right over to Sakura. I think that was her name. I saw her friends calling her that the other day. She had auburn hair that was in a bun and she had bright green eyes. Anyways the prince walked over to Sakura and protected her!!' Yeah that's one thing that I heard pretty clearly." Squeals and screams of happiness filled through the air.

"Did you hear? Did you hear?" asked Fanren to Fuutie. "Our brother stood up for her!"

"I heard something too," said Tomoyo. "Actually… I kind of saw it."

All the girls turned her way, knowing that this was going to be some interesting gossip about Syaoran again.

Tomoyo told them the long story about how she was by the infirmary and that she saw Syaoran putting something on Sakura's hand. She made sure to include all the details and that she left nothing out.

Silence filled the air after Tomoyo was done. They stared at each other and suddenly burst out into more squeals. "He touched her hand!!" they screamed childishly.

Yelan was standing out by the door of the room with a small smile on her face. The door wasn't completely shut and so, she was able to hear everything through the small crack. _"Interesting…" _she thought_._

Meanwhile, Sakura and her friends were arguing with Midori and Kotone…again.

"Get out of my way!" shouted Midori. Her brown eyes were filled with fury. She tossed her short green hair backwards.

"You are so ugly," Kotone said disgustedly. She fluffed her red hair as her matching colored eyes looked away.

Sora sighed as she shook her head. "I pity you guys. Can't you come up with at least a half decent comeback? At least come up with one that is new."

Miyu spoke. "Yeah, I don't think that's going to be happening anytime soon. They are kind of…um…Slow?"

Hikari stood on the side watching the quarrel. "Alright, let's just go."

"MOVE OUT OF MY WAY!!" shouted Midori.

"Y-y-yeah!" shouted Kotone. "Otherwise you guys will get hurt badly."

Sakura stood in the back sighing. Hikari smiled at her. "Kind of annoying isn't it?"

Sakura smiled back. "You can say that again."

Midori stomped her feet on the ground childishly. "I told you ugly peasants that you are going to move out of the way so we can walk past you!"

Sora rolled her eyes. "Here we go with the 'ugly peasants' thing."

Miyu raised her eyebrows. "I can see that this isn't going to get us anywhere."

Kotone screeched. "I told you guys to…"

"Hey, hey, hey!" said Kero as he rounded the corner of the hallway. "What's going on?" Yue and Syaoran walked right behind him, side by side. Syaoran stopped walking as he rolled his eyes.

"Another 'cat fight'," he muttered under his breath.

Yue laughed quietly. "I guess you've seen enough already huh?"

"I've definitely seen more than enough." He quickly hid behind Yue so that they wouldn't see him.

"Kero! Yue!" shouted Sakura as she walked forward. "What are you guys doing here?"

Kero smiled happily at the girl. "We were just walking around and we heard her screech. Is there anything wrong?"

Sakura shook her head. "Just your daily fights."

Kotone walked forward, enchanted by him. "Don't listen to her. There is nothing interesting about her. However, on the other hand…I would suit your tastes," she said, completely off subject.

Sakura looked at her, confused. How did the subject get to something like that? "Um, you know that we are cousins, right? I'm not after him."

Kotone's face turned bright red. She huffed, trying to conceal her blush from the embarrassing mistake that she had just made. "That's what they all say."

"But it's true," said Kero innocently.

Kotone lowered her head as her face heated up even more. She stomped her feet and stood next to Midori.

Midori just rolled her eyes. "Of course she's your cousin. Otherwise you wouldn't even hang out with her right?" asked Midori as she stepped right next to Kero.

"Wrong," said Kero bluntly. Midori's eyes widened in shock. "But look at her and look at me!" she shouted as she pointed to Sakura and herself.

"Yes…?" asked Kero.

"There is absolutely no way you can compare her to me!"

"Well, didn't you want me to compare you two? Isn't that why you told me to look at her and look at you?" asked Kero confused.

Midori's face heated up in anger. "Whatever!" she said as she stomped down the hall. Kotone followed her in angry steps.

Syaoran walked out from behind Yue after they had disappeared into the hallway. "I'm glad they didn't see me," he muttered.

Sakura smiled when she saw him. "Hello, Prince Li."

Syaoran nodded slightly in response.

"Hey Sakura, come look around with us," offered Yue.

Sakura turned around and looked back at her friends, asking for their permission. They nodded their heads and smiled in amazement. Who knew Sakura had so handsome cousins? Hikari made eye contact with both Yue and Kero. She looked away. "Come on, let's go," she said. They walked toward the direction they were heading toward before they were interrupted by Kotone and Midori.

"So," said Sakura, turning toward the prince and her cousins with a warm smile on her face. "Where are we going?"

Yue looked at her. "We are just looking around the castle, nothing much."

"Alright, lead the way then," Sakura said, as joyful as ever.

Kero and Yue took the lead while Sakura walked alongside Syaoran in the back. Syaoran sighed silently. He couldn't exactly walk away from her and walk in front of everyone. He was left with no choice. He had to walk with her.

Sakura started talking. She didn't like the silence. "So, what are you doing today?"

"Nothing," muttered Syaoran coldly.

"Really?" asked Sakura, not knowing what to say to that comment. _"He must really hate talking to people. He barely says anything."_

Sakura glanced ahead at her cousins. They were already in a deep conversation about something. "So…" she said, trying to start a conversation again. "How are you?"

"Okay."

"That's nice… I see that you know my cousins."

Syaoran just nodded his head.

"Do you talk to them often?"

"Depends," he said in a stone voice.

"We are going to check up on how everyone's training. Do you want to come, Sakura? Or would you rather stay?" asked Yue suddenly.

"I'll come," she said.

Soon, they got to a door that was leading to the outside. Kero opened it and let everyone pass through. Syaoran took the chance to walk up front with Yue and away from the girl. Kero walked side by side with her. They followed Yue, who had walked up to someone and was speaking. "Hey, everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's alright. We have had a few fights here and there though," replied the man.

Yue nodded his head and walked away.

Sakura looked up to Kero. "Hey Kero, what exactly do you guys work here as…and why?"

Kero spoke. "We have all sorts of different jobs here. We kind of do everything and we have a high status. It's kind of confusing."

Sakura looked at him. He didn't answer her second question. "Why though?"

Kero looked at her in fake confusion. "What do you mean why?"

"Well, you disappeared years back and I find you suddenly working here…"

"Hey!" shouted Kero caught sight of the men fighting across from them. He was spared from Sakura's question. Yue and Syaoran were already there, trying to make sense of what was going on.

Sakura just shook her head sadly and backed away slowly. She turned around and sighed. Slowly, she walked out to the deserted fields. _"I wonder why no one's there right now."_ There happened to be a tree right next to the fields of wheat. Sakura slumped down onto the hot and soft dirt ground, sitting on the other side of the tree so that she didn't have to look at what was happening. She leaned against the hard wood of the tree. The sun shone brightly and the air was just so refreshing. The shade provided enough shelter from the bright sun.

Sakura smiled as a small breeze of air flew by. It felt good, but it was too bad that she never put her hair down anymore. It used to feel so nice, the breeze that made her auburn hair fly. Now though, her hair was in a tight bun with the sharp chopsticks in her hair. Sakura sighed out loud. The sky was a really nice shade of light blue. She was lost in her thoughts as her emerald eyes followed a white fluffy cloud passing by slowly.

"_What is it with Kero and Yue? They are so distant these days. Every time I ask them something, they always hide it and change the subject. We used to be so close and now… I don't know anything anymore."_ She leaned her head back as she brought her knees up to her chest. Her arms rested on her knees.

"_What on earth happened to them? Did they do something bad? Why did they leave? Why won't they tell me anything? Don't they trust me? It hurt. They just had left, leaving behind only a letter.. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. They just left…without saying anything to me…And now? Are they welcoming me back? No! It sounds as if they didn't even want to see me in the first place. What happened?"_

"Hey, you!" shouted a man. She felt someone sit on the other side of the wide tree. Sakura was about to speak but another man came along and started talking. She was relieved, he wasn't talking to her.

Thankfully, neither one of them noticed. Now all that she had to do was stay silent until both of them left.

"Man, I dunno why those men were fightin' over there. They were all up at each other's throat and everythin'," the first man spoke with an accent.

"Think it was about something with the ladies in this castle."

"Ain't the prince so lucky?" asked the first man. "He got the pretty little girls at his feet."

"Jealous much?"

"I'm smart 'nough to know that bein' jealous ain't gonna do anythin'," he said. "By the way, did ya hear about those people?"

"People?"

"Yes, people as in those guys. The long silver haired guy and dat golden haired person."

"No… What's to know about them?"

"I heard dat they are workin' with the queen and king with some kinda agreement of something. Heard it straigh' from a good source," he said proudly. "Ugh! Time's up. Gotta go back to work now."

"Yeah, don't remind me," he grunted. Slowly, they both walked away.

Sakura sat there in confusion. _"…Some treaty with the king and the queen? Well, then nothing bad happened to them. But what treaty? For what? Why? It's pretty sad that I found this out from another person. Seems like I was the last one to know anything about them. Why won't they tell me anything? I thought we were cousins…"_

"Hey, what are you doing there?" asked another man's voice. Sakura froze as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

"_Tell me he's talking to some other man like last time. Don't let him find out I'm here. I don't want to bother and explain everything about why I was here and such. I just want to be alone for a few seconds."_

"Hey! Kinomoto!"

Sakura jumped up slightly in shock when she heard her last name being called. Slowly, she turned her head and saw the prince. Quickly, Sakura jumped up and dusted herself off.

"Prince Li!" she smiled brightly.

Syaoran pointed behind his back with his thumb. "They are looking for you."

"Oh… I see," said Sakura with a small frown, then suddenly smiling again.

"_What was she so unhappy about? I thought I had seen a frown on her face… Then again, she's always happy and smiling. I doubt she knows what pain is."_

"Prince Li?"

It still came as a shock to Syaoran when she called him "Prince Li" and not his fist name. She was the only girl who did that.

"Yes?"

Sakura looked behind him. "I don't see Yue and Kero."

Syaoran looked behind him. Yue and Kero were no where to be found. "I'll let them know I found you. Another contest is starting a half hour. Go back to your friends until it starts."

Sakura smiled. "Alright thanks! Bye!" she yelled as she walked away while waving.

Syaoran nodded his head as a goodbye. _"Why was she standing alone by this tree?" _

"Another contest…" she whispered to the small breeze. They had already had quite a few. There was a contest everyday…usually. "Wonder how long this one is going to last," she said as she looked up toward the bright blue sky. Standing by the door, she turned the knob and walked back in into the dark, compared to the bright sun. Sighing, she mumbled to herself. "I miss you… mom, dad, Touya, Kaho…Why haven't you replied to my messages yet?" All the mail that she sent, she never got one back yet. Maybe it was because her letters didn't get through yet or it might be that the letter back was lost.

While walking down the hall, her friends suddenly appeared. Putting a smile on her face, she greeted her friends. "Hey."

"Sakura, come on!" shouted Miyu energetically. "Another contest is going to be starting soon!" Miyu grabbed her hand and dragged her down the hall. "I heard its balancing books on your head and carrying trays and stuff. Not sure but it's starting in a half or so."

Sakura laughed as she was continued to be dragged down the hallway. "You seem energetic."

Miyu smiled. "Yep!" She turned her head behind her and looked at her other friends. "Hey, Sora, Hikari, let's go!"

They all smiled at their hyper friend. Walking down the hallway, they chatted happily.

Sakura smiled. She was glad that she had her friends. They were very close to each other. It would be a lot harder for her if she didn't have anyone to talk to. At least they helped her keep her mind off of the thoughts about Yue, Kero, and the rest of her family. One thought did run through her head though. _"If those guys talking by the tree were saying the truth then Kero and Yue are both having a treaty or an agreement with the king and queen… What agreement? Why? Why aren't they telling me anything? How come they are here? Do my parents even know about this? So many things... What's the truth?"_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Here's the chapter. I'm pretty sure that you know that the next chapter includes another contest. : ) Please review!!

Thanks to those who have reviewed! : )

**StarAngel02;** **lil.ramen.lover**; **Chracian-Setsuko**; **Nightmares of Love**; **Anonymousfanfic**; **Lily887787**; **atem4ever**; **butterflyangellover14**; **Masked Mistress**; **AngelEmCuti**; **amey27**; **hamxham**; **winterkaguya**; **shi eri**; **mitsuko310**; **Kurukus**; **rosedreamer101**; **Sakura-chan Master of the C****low**; **Teenureen**; **WiND G0dd3ss xD**; **Brightestoflights**; **RedGirl12146**; **Sweetsally**; **csread**; **Hikari Natsume**; **dilly-sammas luver**; **breathlessnightxx**; **epobbp**; **Inuyashangel**; **KamichamaKarinLover25**; **BabieLuvly101**; **Mangalvr**; **Storyteller of dimensions**; **Cherrysango**; **tennislover431**; **Dragoink**; **Hirotsume-18**; **Millenniumsnow**; **ambhi**; **kaYeYe**; **rockerfaith; pikah10; SnowCharms; zas118**; **Destiny980**; **Cherie Blossom**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** How are you guys? Right now I should be cleaning up the house, not sitting on the computer and trying to fix everything with this chapter. However, with all the reviews, I just can't but help update. Thanks for all the reviews!! They really helped me out. Also, thanks to the people who have pointed out some mistakes with this story and gave me tips! ) Critique anyone? Love to hear it!

Thank you to my beta, **Star Muse!!**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura.

**Last Chapter:**

Sakura smiled. She was glad that she had her friends. They were very close to each other. It would be a lot harder for her if she didn't have anyone to talk to. At least they helped her keep her mind off of the thoughts about Yue, Kero, and the rest of her family. One thought did run through her head though. _"If those guys talking by the tree were saying the truth then Kero and Yue are both having a treaty or an agreement with the king and queen… What agreement? Why? Why aren't they telling me anything? How come they are here? Do my parents even know about this? So many things... What's the truth?"_

**End of Last Chapter**o

"…That's what we are doing for the contest. Good luck," explained the lady that was standing in the big room. The glass walls let the sunlight shine through, warming up the room filled with people. Sakura sighed silently, closing her eyes for a split second before she reopened them.

They were numbered off and they would each have different instructor. She slowly made her way through the people to get to her group and made it last in the line. As everyone settled down and the chatter stopped, Sakura looked around the room, spotting her friends in a different group. The instructor suddenly spoke, making Sakura turn her attention back to her.

"Alright, for this section you will walk across the room with a book on your head. Make sure the book does not fall. If it does, go back to then end of the line. If it doesn't, I will continue to pile books on your head and see how many you can balance. If you can make it up to 5 books, form a line next to the ones who failed or didn't go. Those in that new line will pass to the second level. Those who can't have to stay at the first level. You may not touch the books to keep them on your head. Also, if you walk gracefully, I will add points. We will begin."

The nervous girls went one by one as Sakura started her train of thoughts, barely paying attention to anything else that was going on around her. _"Another test… Really… I don't want to do my best for this contest. I just want to fail everything so I can go back home. But… This isn't a disqualification contest. I can't get disqualified if I fail a level or anything. No matter what, even if I do horribly, I have to stay here. I would be disobeying orders if I did leave without permission. The only way for me to get disqualified would be if… if I did something horrible or broke the laws or the rules for this contest. My family would be even more upset if I did that."_

What could she do? Her brain kept thinking.

"_There really is no way to get out of this contest, so there is no use thinking about it. But… should I try my best? Should I? Or should I fail completely? What should I do? I have so much going on and I'm just so confused. I still haven't gotten any letters and Kero and Yue… Stop it!"_ she scolded herself harshly in her mind, trying not to think that much anymore. _"Why can't I just stop worrying about these things? The problems are so little compared to everything else that is going on in this world, yet… I'm… Should I? Should I try my best? Is that the right thing to do?"_ Her mind kept going on and on, debating whether or not to try her best.

Then she remembered her family, her cousins… They had all told her to do her best. _"Maybe I should try my best. Everyone told me to do that... I guess I should. There are a million girls here. There is no way that I would win even if I tried so I will be fine. Nothing will happen. Everything will be alright. My family wanted me to try my best… So that is what I'm going to do,"_ she rambled.

She finally made up her decision, to try her best in the contest. After all, she wouldn't lose anything. Her eyes focused on the contest. Though she was distracted with her thoughts and feelings, she was paying attention so she knew what was going on.

Some woman weren't able to carry even one across the room. Others made it to two or three, then failed. Some were able to balance 5 books. Finally, it was Sakura's turn. The instructor placed a book on Sakura's head. Walking back and forth, she easily passed the first round.

The instructor spoke to her as soon as she placed the 2nd book on Sakura's head. "My, my, you walk very gracefully, almost like the queen."

Sakura smiled at the compliment and thanked her, earning glares from many of the fellow contestants. She easily aced the rest of the rounds and she was promoted to level two.

The main lady in charge paused all the activities. "I believe everyone is done. Please assemble in your new groups. We will give you a few minutes to relax after that." She repeated the instructions that she said before and everyone headed off to their new assigned places in the room. There were a few instructors who still helped everyone with the first level and a few who took care of the second level. Walking toward her instructor, she saw that all her friends were in the second level too. Miyu was in her group while Sora and Hikari were in a different one.

"Hey Miyu!" said Sakura happily.

Miyu smiled back joyously the second she saw her friend. "Hey to you too! I'm glad to see that you passed the first round too. Are you nervous?"

,"Eh… Kind of. I guess? I don't know. I'm actually not that nervous," confessed Sakura.

"You aren't?" asked Miyu. "Just about half the girls in this room are. Being nervous and all that, wondering if they have a chance to be chosen as the future queen and the bride of the prince. I have to say, I'm really surprised that they picked this way for a bride to be chosen. Not that it's bad but it's really surprising…" blabbered Miyu happily, talking on and on.

Sakura smiled. It was just like Miyu to be all hyper and such. She was easily happy, mad, excited, and sad. She had her times when she got really shy but she was very energetic just like Sora. Sora was a little bit more tomboyish and sporty though. Hikari seemed to be a quiet elegant girl.

"Anyways, how are you?"

Sakura blinked at the sudden question. "Good, how are you?"

"Awesome! By the way, I'm very curious, who exactly were those guys from this morning? Were they really your cousins?"

"Yep! We look kind of different, don't we?"

"I can see the similarities. I mean, they are really gorgeous and you are really pretty too!"

Sakura let a small blush rise on her cheeks. "Um… Thanks. You are really pretty too, Miyu," she complimented. She changed the subject. "So how's life for you?" asked Sakura after the blush faded from her cheeks.

"I'm really happy! I got the reply from my family! Finally! It took forever! I didn't know if the mail I sent was lost on the way or something like that."

The new instructor suddenly spoke, hushing everyone. Everyone paid attention, hoping desperately that they would win the round and become a candidate for the future queen. "Alright, for the second round, we will be doing the same thing as the first round. However, there will be three books on each of your hands while this happens. For the first round, you will walk across the room with a book on your head. For the second round, we will place an additional book on your left hand. You will walk across the room and back. For the round after that, we will take off the book on your left hand and place it on your right hand. The book on your head will not be moved. Walk across and back again. That will be your warm up. After all of that, we will be placing a book on your head, a book on your left hand, and a book on your right hand. Walk across and back. From then on, we will keep piling books on until we reach to 4 books. If you pass, you will qualify for the 3rd round. The same rules will apply. We will begin…"

Just then the large doors to the room opened. The prince, Eriol, Tomoyo, the Li sisters, the king, and the queen all stepped in.

"I'm sorry for interrupting anything. We would just like to see how everything is going," said Yelan, addressing to the whole group of people. "Please continue."

The person in control of the contest going on walked over to get out chairs while the rest of the women in the room continued the contest. The air was tenser with the royal family in the room. Each one of them wanted to impress the royals. Being seated, Tomoyo looked around the room as the first person in each group started walking across the room.

Everything was going orderly. There were people who failed the level and others that passed. Sakura easily aced the level. She easily walked through everything and earned praise again. Many of the women in the room glared fiercely at her for getting all the attention. Trying her best to ignore then, Sakura wished Miyu good luck and went to the other line, waiting for everyone to finish. Miyu walked through everything, barely making it to the next level when she almost lost her balance. Miyu got in line, right behind Sakura and released a sigh of relief.

"I thought I was going to fail! It would have been bad too! I only had a few steps to take before I could finish the level. If I lost my balance there… Ooo! That would be have bad!" said Miyu nervously. She was so glad she made it to the next level. She rambled on and on, her heart still beating fast.

Sakura smiled after calming Miyu down. Miyu was always Miyu. She was a great friend. Always there for her, always ready to make her laugh, always there to come to her defense… Sora and Hikari too… For a moment, Sakura forgot about her worries and thought about how lucky she was to have friends like them.

Living back in her town was very lonely. She had her family to talk with and all that but she didn't really have much time to spare for making friends and spending times with them. Instead, she worked everyday, making sure that her parents lived comfortably. After all, they were really, really important to her. Remembering her days back then, it seemed so long ago.

She shivered as she thought of her experiences in the restaurant that she worked in.

"Hey Sakura, are you okay?" asked Miyu suddenly, concerned.

Sakura smiled and nodded her head.

"Alright, if you need anyone to talk to, feel free to come find me. You kind of looked… disgusted and sad and then you shivered so…" Miyu trailed off.

"I'm fine. Nothing happened. Thanks for the offer though. I'll remember that and find you if I need someone to talk to," spoke Sakura, smiling. "I highly doubt I need to though. I'm a really happy girl," said Sakura, lying.

Miyu smiled. "You sure are! Always smiling and being all positive." Miyu paid attention to the girls in front as Sakura went back to her thoughts, turning her head away so the Miyu couldn't see her face.

She went back to her thoughts. Those thoughts about working in the restaurant. Her boss was a very… bossy person. She was really strict and mean. Sakura really didn't enjoy being around her. Nor did she like seeing her boss bullying someone around. And then… those guys that ate there. They were very… rude and loud… and disgusting… and… She just didn't appreciate the comments they threw at her all day. It just unnerved her. She found her own way around it though. Working there for a long time, she knew what to do and how to avoid those situations or get out of them.

Being in the castle and being treated so well, she felt like a princess or a noble. She had forgotten those days of working. She felt like she was little again. So innocent, so pure, so ignorant to those problems around you. So…

Money… That was an issue that just had suddenly came to her mind. She didn't know where the thought had suddenly come from. It just kind of popped into her mind. She saved up enough money for her family to survive quite a while without her. She was sure that if they used it wisely and if the took care of the vegetable garden, they would have enough money to last almost a year. Just almost. They probably needed just a tiny bit more money. Sakura was deciding that during Christmas, she would be able to go back and go to work to save up some money for her family. But… she hadn't even had any contact with them since she came to the contest.

"_Mom, dad, Touya, Kaho… I've written you a million letters yet I didn't even get one reply… Why? Did my letter get lost? Did your reply get lost? But Miyu received her letter… Maybe her mail was delivered by a different person? Maybe the person that delivered my mail lost it and the person who delivered hers didn't. You've written to me right? You didn't forget all about me right? And Kero… Yue… I can't stop thinking about them and why they are here. AHH!! STOP!! I need to quit worrying about them. I need to stop. Nothing's wrong. Everything is the same. They aren't hiding anything from me. It's just me… It's just me who thinks that way… Nothing is wrong…"_

"Alright! Everyone is done. Please head to the place where you are supposed to be now."

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts and said bye to Miyu. She smiled to her friends across the room, knowing that they passed to the next level. This time, Sakura was in a different group from all her friends. There the new instructor started talking.

"Welcome to the third level. During this level, you will be given two books for your head, one book on your right hand, and one book on your left hand. There will be a string tied around both of your feet so that you will not be able to take wide steps. However, the string may not fall onto the ground. If it does, you must find a way to get it over the finish line while still balancing everything. One more thing, there will be a full cup of tea on the books that are placed on your hands. You must make sure that you do not spill all of it. If you spill more than half, you will not pass to the fourth level. If you don't spill anything, you will be given extra points. You have to walk back and forth. That counts as one round. You have to make it through three rounds. We will begin."

Sakura sighed as the contest started. It was beginning to be a long day, especially with all those troubling thoughts running through her mind, creating chaos for her. She started to think about the contest. This part of the contest wasn't really hard for her at all though. She had lots of practice as a waitress. Balancing and everything came easily to her. Balancing cups of tea on the small trays that were resting on the palm of her hand while walking through the thick crowd of employees and customers each day gave her a lot of experience. Sakura looked curiously around the room. Only a few were still in the first level. Most were in the second level, and some were in the third level.

Her eyes were skimming around the room when she noticed the royal family chatting. Tomoyo suddenly looked her way and waved. Confused, Sakura looked behind her and all around her but found no one waving back. Looking back at the royal, she saw Tomoyo looking back at her straight in the eye. Sakura blinked and pointed to herself, silently mouthing the question about whether or not she was the one being waved to. Tomoyo nodded and smiled. Slowly, Sakura waved and smiled back brightly. Tomoyo smiled brighter. One of the Li sisters started talking to Tomoyo and Sakura looked away. She didn't know how it happened but she had made eye contact with Syaoran. The surprising thing was that both of them looked at each other at the exact same time.

This time, Sakura smiled at him. She didn't feel the apathetic glare of his eyes anymore. Maybe it was because she got used to it after talking to him for 15 minutes the other day. Or it might have been that she knew that he was very kind inside. Syaoran nodded his head in acknowledgement and looked away. Sakura looked around the room again. The rest of the Li family had caught this exchange, unknown to the two. They looked at each other in surprise and interest. They spoke in lowered voices, shocked and somewhat pleased.

After a few more crashes of the cups and shrieks, it was Sakura's turn. She stepped forward and the instructor tied the string around her feet. Then the instructor placed the books on Sakura's upward palms. She filled the tea cups with tea and placed it on the books. Sakura began walking. She was careful not to let the string fall. Walking forward gracefully, she made sure not to drop or spill anything. It was just like she was back in the restaurant. If she spilt a droplet, her boss would go berserk on her. Overall, she passed the level pretty quickly and easily. Unknown to her, Syaoran's family was watching. The instructor was impressed that she didn't even spill a drop.

Once more, everyone got into their new groups. Sakura was promoted to the fourth round. Majority of the people were still in the second or third level. No one was in the first level. Her friends didn't pass to the fourth level though.

"Alright. Good job everyone! Now you have to pass this level. For this level, you must do everything that you did in the level before. However you will be have three books on your head and three on each of your hands. There will be three tea cups on each of your hands and one on your head. Each of them will be filled to the rim. There will be no strings tied around your feet though. Instead, you will have to walk on a balance beam. Walk across it, turn around and walk back. Do this two times. Rules that applied to the previous level will be applied to this level too. However, this time you may not spill more than 1/3 of each cup. Good luck. Congratulations for making it this far. I will give you a couple minutes to relax before we begin."

The room was very tense within the few minutes that were passing by. Other levels had started already. It was just their group that had a while to calm down and rest. No one spoke. They were all nervous. After all, it sounded very hard to everyone and only a few had passed the third level. You had to walk in a straight line without looking down or spilling anything and you had to turn at the end. That was a difficult part. Sakura was a little nervous but not too worried. If she failed, she failed. At least she tried her best.

The time came and it started. Sakura was last in line. No one had passed this round so far. Most had came close but they ended up failing, either because of the strain on their hands and wrists with all the books and the levels before this, because of the turn on the end, or because of other reasons.

It was her turn. Getting on the balance beam, she raised her palms up and stood up tall, ready. The instructor stood on a chair and helped prepare everything. Taking in a deep breathe and breathing out, Sakura started walking. So far, she did pretty well. Unknown to her, the other groups had finished and they were all looking at her, wondering if she was going to fail miserably or if she was going to be the only one to succeed the level.

Continuing to walk, Sakura came to the end. This was the hard part and the place where many had failed. Thinking smartly, Sakura slowly rotated her body, unlike those who had tried to balance on one foot as they lifted the other to turn around. Slowly moving her body, she balanced on the top part of her feet. Keeping them in the same spot, she made a smooth rotation so that the liquid didn't spill. It did ripple a little bit and Sakura had to wait until the liquid stilled. She finished through the rest of the course, being careful. As she walked to the end of the balance beam during the last round, she relaxed.

Everyone stared at her for a few seconds. Then the instructor got up on the chair and took the books and the cup that was on her head. Staring at them and the other cups on her hands, she spoke.

"You didn't even spill one drop…"

Silence filled the room, broken by Sakura. "Really? I thought I had. It started rippling when I turned around on the bar so I thought that I spilt some…"

"No, not one drop. Sweetheart, you really can balance well."

Sakura blushed. "Um… thank you," she said quietly not used to all the praise. It used to be just lectures from her boss about how bad she was at everything. It was a big surprise to her, being complimented so much so suddenly.

"Very graceful too," said another instructor who was also staring at her.

"Yes, very."

Everyone started whispering amongst themselves. Sakura stood there on the balance beam, waiting for the person in front of her to put everything away, while trying to ignore the stares and the whispering. The lady in front of her held the books and the cup, momentarily forgetting that Sakura still had the other books and cups on both of her hands. The instructor was too preoccupied with talking to another person, gushing about what had happened. To Sakura, it was just a contest. What was so special about it? Sakura stood on the balance beam with three books and three cups of tea on each hand. She stood there patiently, waiting for the chance to be able to step down. Suddenly, with her sharp senses, she felt a shoe being thrown her way. However, because Touya had told her that she was not to show anyone or give anyone hints about the fact that she was able to fight and such, she just waited for the shoe to hit her. After all, it would be strange if she was able to dodge it so quickly.

It did hit her. The person had meant to hit her on the head but instead, the shoe had gone off course and hit her on her left shoulder. Needing to act like how any other normal person without good reflexes would act, she pretended to be surprised and drop her stuff in fright. The tea sloshed onto the floor, crashing and splattering glass all over. Pretending to lose her balance, she waved her hands in the air, as if she was trying to regain her balance. At the last moment, she completed her act and fell onto the ground, landing on the palms of her hands and the joint of her knee so that she was able to avoid a painful fall. However, one piece of broken china from the tea cup did cut into her right hand.

"SAKURA!!" yelled her friends as they neared. All three of them looked worried and crowded around her asking if she was alright. Sakura smiled saying that everything was fine, not willing to make them worry.

Shaking his head in disgust, Syaoran walked up to the woman who had thrown the shoe. The other women in the room were shocked about what had happened and didn't crowd around him like they usually did.

"I'm guessing that you threw the shoe?" he asked her unemotionally, giving her a cold look. He was able to sense the shoe being thrown too.

"Of course not! Syaoran, how could you think it was me!?" she whined.

"Then you wouldn't mind showing me your feet."

The woman stared at him. "I know that I'm perfectly innocent. There is no need to prove myself," she said, trying to defend herself.

"Disobeying orders can also cause you to be disqualified," he said simply.

The woman huffed. "FINE! I threw the stupid shoe at her! Happy now? See?" she asked as she showed him her feet. One shoe was missing. The other shoe that was still on her foot matched the other shoe thrown.

"You are disqualified."

"But…" said the woman, close to tears. "Syaoran, how could you do this to me?"

"_Again with the first names…" _he thought. "Do I need to call for the guards?"

The woman looked in Sakura's direction and screamed. "It's all because of you! You good for nothing!" She stomped away.

Sakura's friends were looking at the woman walking away, furious. "Why do I feel like I hate her already?" asked Miyu.

"Syaroan," said the king. "We'll take care of everything. You can go ahead and help Sakura out and see if she is okay.

Syaoran was confused about why his father wanted him, of all people, to see if she was alright but he nodded his head nonetheless and walked toward Sakura. Her friends backed away, leaving some room for the prince.

"Can you walk?" he asked, towering over her. Sakura stood up, careful not to put pressure on her wounded hand. She hid it from his view and smiled slightly.

"Yes your highness," she said. "Of course."

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

He knew that she was lying though. "Come to the infirmary with me just to make sure."

Sakura obeyed and followed him across the room. She didn't want to make a scene and deny it. Somehow, he knew she was lying. She felt a million gazes of envy and glares of hate toward her way as she walked. Lowering her head and staring at the ground, she walked through the door and to the infirmary.

There, Syaoran looked for a nurse but it was deserted, again. He sighed, knowing that he would be the one to clean out the wound. He walked toward the back of the room and told her to sit on the cot. Sakura obeyed and looked at him. He looked at her and spoke.

"Where are you hurt?"

She didn't reply at first. "No where really."

"Stop lying and admit it. I will ask you again. Where are you hurt?"

By the tone of his voice, Sakura decided that it would be a better idea for her to admit where she was hurt. He sounded pretty angry and frustrated. Slowly, she raised her right arm and showed him her palm.

Wordlessly, he quickly searched for the supplies and set them on the small metal table next to her. He sat on the right side of her. Grabbing her hand gently, he examined it. It was still bleeding slightly. He grabbed a tool off the metal table with his right hand, ready to pull the piece of china out.

"It'll hurt a bit. Just tell me when you can't stand the pain and I'll see what I can do."

She didn't reply and he looked up at her, curious. She smiled at him. "Go ahead," she said.

Nodding, he held her hand steady, her palm facing upward. The wound was right in the middle of her palm. His right hand held the tool that was going to help him pull the piece of broken china out. Slowly he pulled it out, careful not to make it too painful.

"Did that hurt?" he asked, still looking at her hand.

"I'll be fine. Just go ahead and pull it out."

Guessing that she would be fine and that she wouldn't scream, he quickly pulled the piece out. She had barely flinched, surprising him. Moving quickly, he put the sterile tool and the piece of broken china on the table and helped her disinfect the wound. He blew on it gently, his cool breath soothing the pain that she felt. When he was done, he applied an ointment and wrapped her palm with a white cloth bandage, and tied a neat knot. Syaoran got up and began to put all the items away and cleaning up and doing whatever that was needed to be done.

"I'm sorry and thank you for all of this."

"Hnn…" The room filled with silence as he continued what he was doing. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No."

"Is your hand okay?"

"Yes," replied Sakura. "The wound wasn't that big after all."

He ignored her comment. "Come down here every morning and every night. I'll make sure that there is someone down here to help you with your wound. In the meantime, be careful with it. It should heal pretty soon though."

"Yes, doctor," she said jokingly, smiling.

He looked at her for a second. A small flicker of emotion passed through his eyes and it was gone in a heartbeat. She wasn't able to tell what the emotion was and she was beginning to doubt what she saw. She began to believe that she was just imagining things.

"For the meantime, just go to your room or something. The contest ended and now it's free time. Dinner will be here soon." With that, he walked out of the room.

**Author's Note:** I rewritten parts of this and so this chapter is probably a little shorter than it actually was. Hopefully you enjoyed it! Please review!!

Thanks to those who have reviewed!

**Lily887787**;**Storyteller of dimensions**;**AngelEmCuti**; **epobbp**; **SnowCharms**; **KamichamaKarinLover25**; **Cherry Akira Li**; **Daniela**; **butterflyangellover14**; **Cherie Blossom**; **Kurukus**; **BlackDraconian**; **lil.ramen.lover**; **Anonymous**; **BabieLuvly101**; **Hikari Natsume**; **rosedreamer101**; **pickles**; **inuyashangel**; **Catmann**; **Phoenix Fanatic**; **I'd rather be dead then coolXP**; **rosy**; **pacthes19**; **rondallagurl**; **Destiny921**; **animelover0328**; **sweetsally**; **DemonFoxgirl101**; **animelikr**; **Dragoink**; **Mizuki Kuro-chan**; **StarAngel02**; **Mitsuko H.** ; **RedGirl12146**; **fluffypenguinscandy**; **Black-Sakura27**;** -FoxAngel12-**;** sarkura**; **dilly-sammas luver**; **taylor**; **-natsume-luvr25-**; **mangalvr**; **shi eri**; **.choco.angel.**; **mugi-choco**; **zas118**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the reviews and the people who helped me through this story!! I read all your reviews and listened to your requests and stuff. I will be thinking about them and I'll see if I can make them work in this story. If I can't, I'll try to bend and compromise them somehow. If I still can't do that, I'm really sorry!! Some of them just might not fit in the plot. Thank you so much though! In the meantime, please read and see what I have planned out. Wow, once again, I'm working on this story around midnight. I've been lacking A LOT of sleep.

Special thanks to my beta, **Star Muse**!!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura

* * *

**Last Chapter:**

"Is your hand okay?"

"Yes," replied Sakura. "The wound wasn't that big after all."

He ignored her comment. "Come down here every morning and every night. I'll make sure that there is someone down here to help you with your wound. In the meantime, be careful with it. It should heal pretty soon though."

"Yes, doctor," she said jokingly, smiling.

He looked at her for a second. A small flicker of emotion passed through his eyes and it was gone in a heartbeat. She wasn't able to tell what the emotion was and she was beginning to doubt what she saw. She began to believe that she was just imagining things.

"For the meantime, just go to your room or something. The contest ended and now it's free time. Dinner will be here soon." With that, he walked out of the room.

**End of Last Chapter**

* * *

"Hey, Sakura are you listening to me?" asked Miyu over the sounds of the silverware clattering against the plates and the chatter that filled the air. "Are you okay? You kind of blanked out…"

Sakura smiled. "I was just thinking about the next contest," she admitted.

"Really?" asked Sora. "So was I! I am terrible at fighting!"

"So am I actually," said Miyu.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one," said Hikari after she swallowed her food. They all looked at Sakura.

As much as she didn't want to lie, she couldn't tell them the truth either. It was strange that Touya wouldn't let her fight in the first place. It was even stranger that she still didn't get the reply from her parents. She had never found out anything about Kero and Yue either. However, with all this going on, she thought it would be smart if she did listen to her brother. "I don't think I'll do to well in the contest either…" she said, picking up another piece of her food and chewing it. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either. She would try to fail the contest and she wouldn't do well.

The girls moved onto another topic. They still had three hours after lunch before it started. Before they knew it though, their happy chatter ended and so did their meal. Everyone headed out of the large room and found something to occupy their time with.

Sakura had rejected her friends' offers to hang out for the day. She wanted to meet up with her cousins.

Knowing that they were probably in the training room where they had first met, she went there, only to be stopped by a guard at the front door. Sakura asked if she could enter but he firmly shook his head.

"The king and the queen gave strict orders that no contestant was to enter the training rooms today."

Sakura nodded her head. "Um… Is it possible if you could find out for me if Kero and Yue are in there?"

"And what business do you have with them?"

"Nothing really," said Sakura. "I just wanted to talk to them. It's no big deal really."

"Are you Sakura Kinomoto?"

Sakura nodded her head slowly, wondering how he knew her name. "Yes I am… Um…"

Before she could question him, he spoke, answering her questions. "Yue and Kero have asked me to send a small message to you. They said that they were helping with the fighting contest and that they could not see you today."

Sakura smiled slightly. "Thank you for letting me know."

The guard nodded. "You're welcome."

Sakura walked back to her bedroom and numbly unlocked the door, stepping inside and locking it. She suddenly felt exhausted and her body was heavy.

"_Must be from all the worrying and the lack of sleep recently…"_ she thought.

She needed to sit down. Her head was either getting heavier or lighter by the second. It was a weird feeling and she couldn't tell. Slowly, she stumbled her way to the bed and collapsed on it, her stomach laying on the bed and her back facing the ceiling. There, she rested, falling between being awake and half asleep. She couldn't move her body. She tried to will herself to wake, but it didn't work.

Before she knew it, she drifted off into a weird state and a knock was sounded on her door a while later. Barely remembering what happened, she pushed herself up with her arms.

The knock came again. "Sakura, this is Hikari. Are you in there?"

"Yeah, give me a few seconds."

Sakura shook her head but it just made everything worse. There was still a dense heavy fog in her mind and she couldn't think right. "Coming…" She took in a deep breath and tried to compose herself, ignoring her current problems. She opened the door and was met with Hikari. Her hand was raised in a position indicating that she was about to knock again. Behind her stood Sora and Miyu.

"We have 10 minutes until the contest starts. We looked for you everywhere and we finally found you here. Come on, let's hurry," said Sora.

Sakura's eyes widened. Though her brain was still drowsy and yes, feeling very heavy, she still remembered about the contest. Quickly she was going to search for her keys before she noticed that they were still held in her hands. She hadn't let go of them since she drifted off. "You guys go ahead," said Sakura. "I'll meet you guys there okay? I need to check everything and lock the door."

"Alright, we'll meet you there then," said Miyu. Together, her three friends walked away.

It was great that they didn't suspect anything. Sakura had put up a very convincing act and she was thankful they didn't question her about anything. She still felt like she was in a dream though. It was really hazy and she couldn't think right. She slowly locked the door and walked down the hallway.

Her mind was reeling in circles.

"_Contest… Family… Treaty… Letter… Contest… Friends… Work… Money… Life… Problem… Fight… Contest… Sleepy…"_

All those words were whispered to her. She paused for a second, looking around. Was someone talking to her? Walking on numbly, she didn't know what she was doing or what was going on. What was it about the contest? Something about her family and a treaty… Then there was something about a letter, what was it? Did someone want her to send a letter?

Her head hurt with every thought. Her head pounded with every fact she was trying to figure out.

"_Where am I? What am I doing?"_

She found her eyelids slowly shutting and reopening. Her eyesight got blurry and she had to stop all her trains of thoughts because it was too painful to think. Both her hands covered her forehead as she took a step sideways. She stumbled here and there, not even knowing that anything was wrong. It was like as if nothing was happening to her, like as if she didn't exist. Her mind… was impossibly blank.

She suddenly felt pressure on both sides of her shoulders, and a few senses came back. In her fuzzy gaze, she saw two men on either side of her. Her mind wasn't working and she didn't know what was going on. Was there anything going on? It was all hazy to her.

Before she knew it, she was thrown into somewhere dark and some where slightly chilly. She struggled to think about what was going on, what she was supposed to do, who she was, and why she felt like nothing. Before she knew it, her brain became even fuzzier and she blacked out again, her head hitting the side wall. She never felt the pain coming to her since all her senses were dimmed.

_A beautiful sound of relaxing music filled the air. The piano rang softly, dancing and intertwining with the soft flute, the gentle harp, and the graceful tones of the violin. Each sound gently resonated through the air, bringing the corners of those lips who were listening to a genuine upward lift._

_The man sat on the piano, his warm brown eyes filled with peacefulness as his hands gracefully pressed on the keys. The woman gently strummed the harp, smiling in happiness. Her hands elegantly plucked at the right strings. The male teenager that was soon to be a man was feeling serene as his bow gently moved over the strings. His eyes shut for a few seconds, savoring the relaxing sound. The young teen girl, that was playing the flute beautifully, had delight showing in her eyes. She was proud that she and her family were playing such a beautiful tune. She was also delighted to find that she could make the lively flute play softly blending in with such a graceful song._

_Her auburn hair was let loose in the soft blowing wind and her emerald eyes glimmered in happiness. The wind soon brought the leaves of the soft sakura petals twirling through the air._

Pain was the first thing that registered on her mind. She groaned painfully as she tried to sit up. For some reason, she found herself lying on a cold cement like floor, unconscious. The side that was lying on the floor brought her pain as she sat up slowly. Her head throbbed, but not as badly as before.

"_Wait,"_ she thought as her body went alert. What was going on with her? _"Ow, my head… I can't remember anything. Every time I think, my head starts pounding. All I remember is that I found out about the fighting contest. I went to find Yue and Kero but they weren't there, then I went to the room and felt dizzy…"_

She realized that was when everything had started. As she recalled the events one after another, her mind started clearing up. It still hurt to think hard though. She remembered the ugly sensations that she went through. Her friends had told her the contest had started…

"_The contest!"_ she thought, tensing up even more. _"But it doesn't matter. I would have tried to fail it anyways, it was the fighting contest and Touya..."_ She stopped her thoughts as her head started pounding again when all the memories of her worries came through her head again.

"_Now is not the time. First of all, where am I?"_ She was surprised that she let her mind run so long, without even letting a thought drift toward the question about where she was.

"_My friends left and I locked the door. I walked down the hallway and…"_ Her head started to hurt painfully, like she was getting a million shots. Immediately, both of her hands were on either side of her head, putting a small amount of pressure on both sides. She whimpered quietly from the pain. It was hard to remember what happened next. She pushed on though. She tried to remember all that happened.

"_I… I don't remember anything else. My mind is blank… That's it... My head was blank. I… I… I couldn't think and I felt like I didn't exist. The feeling was all so real, but yet… there was no feeling. I didn't have any of my senses, or they were dimmed to the point where I was barely aware of anything. I was unconscious, yet conscious at the same time."_

She remembered the next part a little more clearly. The pain thrashing around in her head had faded a bit. _"I felt like there was pressure on both sides of my shoulders, or it was pressure on my arm. I don't know but then I was thrown into somewhere dark and cold… here."_

Just then, her attention shifted back to where she was instead of trying to recall what had happened.

"_Cold, completely dark, cement like floor… and what else?"_

Hesitatingly, she reached out her hands to touch something. She didn't want to do this. What if her hands met with something scary, or slimy, or dirty, or…? But she had to in order to figure something out. She had to figure out where she was. Her hands patted the floor, moving across bit by bit. There was only a wall behind her. Soon, she felt something underneath her hand. She stopped moving her hand and gently picked whatever it was up, feeling it. It was rope like but it was thin rope thing. There were many "rope like strings" around it. What was it? She slowly moved her hand up farther. There was this feeling telling her that it was a mop. Soon enough, her hands met with a pole like thing. She confirmed it. It had to be a mop.

So she was in this completely dark confirmed area with no windows and a mop?

"_A closet! Duh! I can't believe I didn't think of that!"_

She patted her hand along the wall behind her. She carefully stood up, raising her hand above her head to see if anything was there. She stood up tall, moving her feet around, taking small steps and careful not to trip over anything. She was looking for the door. Pretty soon, she felt something like the texture of wood. It definitely was different than the wall that she had felt. Moving her hand along the door, she searched for something. Finally she found it. It was the doorknob. She would be free.

She twisted it in her hands but found that the doorknob wouldn't move along. Moving it back and forth, she realized that the door was locked from the outside. She… was stuck and trapped.

"_Why?"_

She was confused. Why did this happen? And why did she feel so… Why did she have the weird feeling a while ago, right before she was thrown in there? Speaking of that, she wondered how long it was since she passed out.

"_My body has been fine. I've been a lot healthier, getting more of a decent meal and getting a lot more sleep. I've been treated like royalty, not having to go to work or anything. There wasn't anything wrong with me today. Do I have some kind of weird sickness that suddenly comes at you? What's going on?"_

Her head started hurting as she thought of the endless possibilities. She slowly sunk to the floor as if all the energy was taken out of her, leaning against the door for support. She titled her head back, her legs straightened out in front of her and her arms lying tiredly on either side of her. Her head titled to the side, her eyes slowly shutting.

"_My mind… Ugh…"_ She groaned in pain. _"It's so heavy, like I've been drugged…"_

Her eyes snapped open. That was it. She was drugged. There was no other explanation. She was completely healthy and just suddenly felt all drowsy and stuff. She couldn't believe herself for being so stupid. The pampering experience in the castle must have dimmed her alertness. The drug that was ingested in her must still have a strong effect on her brain since she still felt some of the pain and that she couldn't think clearly. Usually, she would have thought of it right away but it seemed her mind was working slowly at that moment.

But who would drug her? How would they drug her without affecting anyone else? Unless… there was someone else that was also affected besides her. How did she get drugged though? During lunch? Her friends were alright and they were eating the food. They were sitting next to her too. Someone must have sprinkled it in her food or put it in her tea and she was too careless to pay attention to it. How would they have done it though?

A memory suddenly came back to her. She went to use the bathroom and her food was unprotected that time. But her friends were there. Surely they wouldn't let anyone do that to her food unless, that person distracted their attention and they didn't know.

She sighed. There was nothing she could do. She just had to be more alert at night and alert in the morning too.

Her eyes closed as she drifted off for a second. She immediately shook her head, thinking that it was going to shake the sleepiness away. Instead, it gave her another terrible headache that left her whimpering.

She felt so weak. She shouldn't be. Usually she was so strong. Usually she upheld everything. It wasn't supposed to be her that cried. It wasn't supposed to be her that was weak. Her headache was getting worse again and so, she decided to stop yelling at herself and tried to think about other things.

The poison had obviously tampered with her mind and made her clueless and drowsy, for she didn't even think about what she had in her body. Who knew what kind of drug it was? Who knew if it was lethal? She didn't even think about the danger that she might be in. She didn't even try to think of ways getting out of the closet. She didn't even think about if she was still in the castle.

She did think about the dream though. The dream of her past. It was the one that she had right before she woke up in the unknown place. She smiled at the sweet memory and before she knew it, she drifted off again, the sound of the music her family played, ringing in her head, letting her sleep peacefully.

By the time she woke up, her head had cleared a great amount. She could think a bit more clearly now and knew what to do. Her head didn't hurt as much either. She suddenly thought about what happened. Her mind brought her back to lunch as she recalled the taste of the food.

"_I thought it was weird. The tea… it was sweet and bitter. I just figured that it was a new kind of tea. And then… around the teacup, there was some white powder on the small plate it was on. I thought it was just some kind of sugar that they accidentally poured in messily. But it probably was the powdered poison that the person dumped in. The person was probably in a hurry… The tea had a weird aftertaste too. Like…"_

Her eyes widened. She knew what the poison was. Judging from the white powder, the bitter yet sweet taste, and the aftertaste that it left in her mouth… It had to be it.

The poison was made of different kinds of unique plants that were harmful if they were swallowed just by itself. However, with a different combination, one plant was able to slightly dim the poison of another, leaving it dangerous, but not fatal. It was just supposed to temporarily weaken your body and all your senses while making your mind hazy, leaving you between a conscious state and an unconscious state. You wouldn't know what was happening and your thoughts would be bothering you until they all faded away to nothing. Sooner or later, the poison would knock you out. You were supposed to feel uncomfortable affects like dizziness, drowsiness, lightheadedness, heavy headedness, and other stuff before and after you fainted, which is what Sakura had been through.

Where all this information about poison had come from, she had no clue. She remembered a faint memory of her as a small, small child, reading a book with her mom about plants, herbal medicine, and poison.

But now she figured out what kind of poison it was, she knew that it wasn't dangerous to her health. It was just a temporary poison that would fade completely in 12 hours… Well, depending on the doses given, it could be hours more than that or hours less.

She sighed. Now she had to get out of there by messing with the lock. She had no key and it was so dark so that it was hard to see what kind of lock it was. Her hand slowly moved across the door to the doorknob. She traced her finger down the dent, where the key was supposed to go in.

It was funny, you would think that it locked on the inside but it did the opposite. She hoped that it was a simple lock. If it wasn't… She didn't have the right tools to open a more complicated one.

She moved her hand up to her hair and moved around for the hair pin, careful not to prick herself on the 4 long chopstick needles. They were all inserted so that it looked like a snowflake. If she only had two, they would take in a shape of an "x". She was glad that she put a hair pin in her hair that day. Usually she wouldn't have. However, her bun seemed out of place that morning and so, she had slid a few into her hair, hoping that it would keep her hair in place.

Finally finding one, she gently pressed on the top of her bun as she pulled it out slowly, making sure that it wouldn't mess up anything. It was dark and she really couldn't see. Finally, she had the bobby pin right in front of her. She bent it to straighten it out so that it was in a straight line. She curved the tip in an angle that was somewhere between 45 degrees and 90 degrees.

Trying to get more comfortable, she kneeled, facing the door as she traced her finger over the place where the key was supposed to go into. She found the part where the bobby pin was supposed to go into. Using her other hand to guide the bobby pin into the hole, she struggled for just a few seconds, trying to get it in. After all, it was pitch black and she really couldn't see anything. She slowly jiggled the bobby pin around, applying just the right amount of pressure so that the pins inside the lock would go up. Each time one did, she heard a small click. This was done quickly and she carefully twisted thepin so that the lock would open. The door clicked, indicating that she succeeded. Breathing a sigh of relief, she was glad that it was one of those easier locks that only needed one tool to open it.

She twisted the knob but suddenly she heard two male voices. Instantly she froze, not moving an inch so that she wouldn't alert them of her presence. Bit by bit, she slowly let go of the handle and headed to the corner stealthily so that they couldn't overhear her. She could still hear the conversation taking place.

"I don't even know why she wants to lock that woman up in the closet," said the first man, his voice squeaky.

The second man had a lower tone that vibrated every time he talked. "I don't know either. I mean, she is a noble and that woman is only a peasant. She really probably isn't a threat so..."

"Hey," interrupted the first man. "Didn't you hear?" He stopped walking.

"Hear what?" he asked as he paused his steps too.

"She's a royal from a small country that borders the Li Kingdom. The contest was only meant for the women who are citizens of the kingdom so she had to have one of us sneak in and change the list so she would be accepted."

"The list?" asked the second man cluelessly.

"Yes, the list. In the beginning of the contest they had people with the lists at the entrance, checking off who came. That list had all the names of the ones who were qualified. She had to get someone to add her name on the list since she wasn't on there but..."

"I know what list you are talking about now but wasn't it heavily guarded? I don't think she would have been able to add her name to the list even if she sent someone really sneaky."

"If you would let me finish," said the man with the squeaky tone. "Yeah, it was guarded and so she had to order someone to kidnap a girl who was eligible in the contest. She took her place and that's how she got in."

"No wonder… Wait, didn't she order us to make sure the closet door was still locked?" he asked, just now remembering.

"Yeah..." Their attention went to the door and Sakura took a big intake of air, still too quiet for them to hear. The door was unlocked and they could tell.

Quickly but silently, she laid down onto the floor, pretending that she was still knocked out from the poison. Breathing in deeply and keeping her eyes shut, she tried to relax. Slowly, the doorknob turned and the door opened, letting in a streak of light. It creaked open more and more until the men could get a good view of the walk in storage closet. Sakura could see the bright light though her eyelids.

"Is she still out?" asked the first man.

"Yup, no doubt about it. I thought that the poison would have faded a little bit, enough for her to be awake at least but she still seems pretty knocked out."

"Poison?"

The man looked at him. "You know about her being a royal from a different country but yet you don't know about the poison?"

The man ignored his comment. "Whatever, just tell me what's going on with poison."

"I can't believe you went on this "mission" without knowing that she was poisoned. Otherwise how did you think she was so easily locked in this closet by us?" he asked, his low voice rumbling through the air.

"Hey, you're working for our boss and you didn't know that she was from a different country," he said, defending himself.

"Point taken. Now let's get out of here." Slowly, the door shut again and they walked away, too occupied in an argument to remember to lock the door. Sakura was glad that they forgot that about the fact that it was unlocked in the first place otherwise they would suspect something was up. She lifted her eyelids and got up, seeing no difference between the darkness and her closed eyes. She was glad that she decided to move away from the door when the conversation was taking place because if she didn't, there was a high change she would have been caught.

"SAKURA!!" shouted a voice down the hall. "SAKURA!!"

Sakura blinked. It sounded a lot like her friends. She opened the closet door and say them shouting, not too far away.

Miyu's eyes widened. "Sakura! There you are! Why were you in that closet? Where you there the whole time? What was going on? Why did you skip the contest?" All her friends gathered around her.

Sakura sighed. "Um… I don't know actually. I was really tired. I didn't get much sleep the last few days and my mind wasn't working and it felt all hazy. I opened the closet door thinking that it led to somewhere else. Before I knew it I think I blanked out from the lack of sleep," she lied, hating every single untruthful word coming out of her mouth. She couldn't worry her friends though.

Miyu sighed, placing her hands on Sakura's shoulders. "I'm just glad you're okay. When I didn't see you there, I thought that maybe someone had like…" Her eyebrows crinkled. "I don't know, I mean you got that shoe thrown at you so I was worried that someone else like Midori or Kotone had done something to you and yeah…"

"Can we do anything to let Sakura somehow compete in the contest?" asked Sora hopefully.

Hikari sadly shook her head. "No… The handbook that we got says that there are no excuses for not attending. You will not get a second chance to compete in the contest unless given special permission from one of the royals…" She paused. "I think that is what is says. Maybe we could go tell someone about what happened. Maybe they will give Sakura permission to get another chance to compete."

"Don't worry about it you guys. Besides, it's my fault. I was the one who dozed off so…"

"But that was because of your health. They shouldn't blame you for that," argued Sora. "Sakura," she said softly, "You have been doing so well with the contests so far, I wouldn't be surprised if you were the first choice as the prince's wife. But… you didn't show up to this contest and they'll be unhappy. You'll get a lot of points deducted and you won't be in first place anymore. I don't want that to happen."

"Yeah," said Miyu, letting her hands fall from Sakura's shoulders. "We'll go find the person in charge of this contest and ask them to give you another chance okay?"

Sakura smiled. "I'm really lucky to be able to find you guys and become your friends but there is no need. I'm terrible at fighting. Absolutely horrible. Even if they did give me another chance, it wouldn't matter anyways because I would do so badly." She hated lying to her friends, especially since they had been so nice to her but there was nothing she could do. At least part of it wasn't a lie.

"But…" protested Miyu.

"It's alright. It's my fault for not taking care of myself. Now, let's stop this conversation. What time is it?"

"Dinner started just a few minutes ago," said Hikari.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Don't tell me that you guys were planning to skip dinner looking for me."

"Hey, a great friend is worth skipping a dinner for," said Hikari. "Besides, I wouldn't be able to eat with you missing in the castle."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you so much. I can't believe I found such great friends like you guys. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am, knowing that you guys are all there for me."

"Group hug!" shouted Sora, as they all wrapped their arms around each other. "What do you say about heading to dinner now that Sakura is safe and sound?"

"I say that's a great idea," said Hikari. "Let's go."

They walked down to the room and saw that most of the women there didn't even show up for dinner because they were too much in "pain" from the small scrapes that were caused from the fingernails and the tiny "bruises" that they had.

"I'm guessing that this is the aftermath of a fighting contest?" asked Sakura. "Was it that violent?"

Miyu snorted and tried to hold back her laughter. "Violent? Only if you call cat fights violent. The only reason why half of them didn't show up was because of a teeny scratch and a patch of red skin. You should have been there to see all of the so called fights. It was pretty interesting."

Sora smiled. "Yeah, I have to say, it was hilarious. Half the time I was trying not to laugh."

Hikari looked at Sakura. "Are you sure you don't want to ask for another chance to enter the fighting contest?"

Sakura smiled. "I'm positive."

"Hey, wait a second," said Sora, glaring at their table as they walked closer to it. "That's Midori and Kotone, what are they doing, sitting at the table?"

Miyu's eyes narrowed. "They better not do anything."

A sigh was heard. "I sure hope not. There is enough going on today," said Hikari.

The four girls sat down at the table as Midori and Kotone looked up. "You guys didn't do so well in today's contest did you? And you… whatever your name is, you didn't even show up? Did you run away?" asked Midori haughtily.

Hikari placed a hand on both Sora and Miyu's shoulders, shaking her head. "Calm down. Let me talk okay?"

Miyu and Sora looked at each other, wondering how Hikari was going to control it. She was usually the quiet one, the elegant one who hated fights.

"I feel sorry for you guys," said Kotone smugly.

"Please keep your pity for yourself. You need it more than we do," said Hikari.

"Hah! I saw you fighting! You were terrible," said Midori, pointing at Hikari.

She just simply spoke calmly. "At least it was better than your performances."

"Excuse me?" asked Kotone. "Well at least I'm pretty."

"You forgot to say the "ugly" after the pretty and you didn't remember to mention the "dumb" part," she added. Sora, Miyu, and Sakura were all surprised. Hikari was trying to insult them. It was completely different from her usual personality.

"Ugly peasants! You know what's funny?" asked Midori.

"Your faces," said Miyu, unable to keep her mouth shut.

"No, your face is. At least we both have makeup, you know what you need to get?" asked Kotone, furious.

"No but, I know that you need to get a life," said Sora, pleased that she was able to say something. Just then, someone came by with a cart full of delicious food. Apparently they had seen the four girls just walk in.

Sakura smiled. At least the arguments would stop for the meantime. The maid set the food on the table and grabbed the teapot to pour tea into their cups. Sakura watched as the steam came from the cup. She picked up her fork and almost began eating.

"Umm…" she said suddenly. The maid looked at her.

"Yes?"

"Are these forks, spoons, and knives that we usually use made of pure silver?"

"Yes, why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering, they seem so… nicely made."

The maid smiled and nodded. "Please enjoy your dinner."

"Thank you."

She looked down at her food and spoke. "Hey, let's all just stop fighting and eat. Aren't we all hungry?"

"One question first," said Miyu, looking at the other two girls. "What are you guys doing sitting at our table?"

"It's not yours. Besides, you should feel honored that we decided to sit by you guys from now on."

"Someone, wake me up from the nightmare," said Sora. "Besides, why are you sitting over here?"

"Because the people we sit with don't know what the word fashion or pretty means. Anyways, we are sitting by you guys. You should be ashamed for questioning our actions," said Midori, raising her nose up into the air. Kotone mocked her.

"Let's eat," said Hikari, making eye contact with both of the snobby girls, shaking her head slightly back and forth, running a hand through her hair.

They looked away and went back to eating their food as Sakura ran the fork in her hands over her food. She stuck in a few places and pulled it back out, satisfied with what she saw. When no one was watching her, she stuck her fork into her tea and pulled it back out. Finally, she began eating.

However, this action did not escape the watching eyes of Syaoran Li. He wasn't staring at her the whole time but he did see her walk in and he was curious about what was going on. _"Why did she skip the tournament today? It seems unlike her. Did something happen?"_ He took another bite of his food. _"What is she doing with her fork? Unless…"_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow, I think that this is one of the longest chapters that I have written so far. I think I'm getting headache now though. My head feels really lightheaded. Like I said, I haven't been getting much sleep. Please review!

Thanks for all the reviews!!

**da1wholuvanime**;**Anonymous**; **Taya-chan**;**brightestoflights**; **DJ Juliette**; **lil.ramen.lover**; **Daniela**; **Black-Sakura27**; **unknown**; **BabieLuvly101**; **patches19**; **bluestar9**; **winterkaguya**; **Storyteller of dimensions**; **Destiny921**; **summersunset**; **zas118**; **StarAngel02**; **rondallagurl**; **atem4ever**; **idioticsmile**; **shi eri**; **Kurukus**; **butterflyangellover14**; **Kiminochi**; **Phoenix Fanatic**; **lai lai**; **hamxham**; **pickles**; **Masked Mistress**; **tennislover431**; **TinatheangL**; **Sakura Petal Wings**; **I'd rather be dead then coolXP**; **fluffypenguinscandy**; **merylin**; **rosedreamer101**; **mangalvr**; **saphirarubius**; **sweetsally**; **RedGirl12146**; **SnowCharms**; **twinklet31**; **Hikari Natsume**; **epobbp**; **maehwa**; **Sakura-chan Master of the Clow**; **sakurachan**; **AngelEmCuti**; **Hirotsume-18**; **Baby Fluffy equals KAWAII**; **-siarafaerie-101-miss**; **Cherie Blossom**; **breathlessnightxx**;** rockerfaith**;** Somebody**;** Calstria the nature Raider**;** Cherry Akira Li**; **Red-Emerald**


	12. Chapter 12

_**CHAPTER 3 IS REVISED!**_

_**IMPORTANT MESSAGE:**_ When fanfiction sends the story alerts for **The Contest to Find the Perfect Wife**, it will say in the subject box **FF New Chapter Ch. 12 of story, The Contest To Find the Perfect Wife, by Moonlight Petal**. It's a long story but basically, everytime it says that Chapter 12 has been updated, it means that I have revised the next chapter.

_**This chapter is not yet revised so please don't read this chapter yet. Read Chapter 1's author's note if you have not already done so. Thank you!**_

* * *

**Author's Note:** School has been doing a lot to me. I have harder classes this year and I'm being challenged. I'm still trying to write but I barely even have enough time to check my email anymore. There was one day I spent until around midnight trying to finish homework. I don't know if it's because I became lazy and decided to put studying tests till the next day. The other day went better, I worked on homework up until 10:30. The final day I actually was able to finish around 10:00. Now let's just see how the rest of the school year goes. I know that it isn't an excuse but yeah…

I'm forcing myself to put back my homework and try to update this chapter.

Alright, congratulations to **StarAngel02**, **Sakura-chan Master of the Clow**, and **TwinkleStar** for either guessing it right, or knowing it right off the bat. (I'm talking about why she stuck the fork into her food.) If I missed your name above, sorry, and please let me know so I can give you credit. The rest of you will find out later on in the chapter.

And yes I know, a lot of you are waiting for Sakura to show her fighting abilities right? Well, rest assured, sometime during this story, it will happen. You didn't think I would let this story go without Sakura awing the readers with her fighting abilities did you? ; )

Remember to review and let me know what you think! Thanks a bunch for everyone who added me their favorites and added me their alerts! And of course, bunch of thanks for those who left a review and/or critique! BTW, I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing so if you have any critique or anything, tell me anytime. Feel free to be as harsh as you want. : )

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura.

Special thanks to my beta, **Alyssum**! She's a great editor and she's been helping me out greatly. I also want to take this time to thanks those who have left me a PM and for those who I asked for some help. Thanks! Now off to the story!

* * *

**Last Chapter:**

They looked away and went back to eating their food as Sakura ran the fork in her hands over her food. She stuck in a few places and pulled it back out, satisfied with what she saw. When no one was watching her, she stuck her fork into her tea and pulled it back out. Finally, she began eating.

However, this action did not escape the watching eyes of Syaoran Li. He wasn't staring at her the whole time but he did see her walk in and he was curious about what was going on. "Why did she skip the tournament today? It seems unlike her. Did something happen?" He took another bite of his food. "What is she doing with her fork? Unless…"

**End of Last Chapter**

* * *

The emerald eyed girl blinked as she stared across the half empty room. "Uh… I thought that you guys said that the fighting contest wasn't that bad. Are you sure it wasn't violent? This is already the third day since that contest and yet no one is here eating," she remarked, her eyes curiously traveling across the room.

"No… it wasn't that bad at all," Hikari quietly mumbled, her eyes also trained on the room.

"Yeah, most of them were just threatening each other about this and that. Then they started clawing each other with their fingernails. Those were usually with the ones who were wearing all those frilly dresses to a fighting contest. The ones that actually work for a living actually did something more than stare around and cry when their dresses were tugged and stretched. No offense of course," said Sora. "It's just really…"

"..surprising that there are so many people absent and that most of them are from the noble side, the ones that really didn't hurt that bad," continued Miyu, knowing exactly what she meant.

Sora nodded. "I mean, there are people who did get hurt, but they are showing up anyways and the ones who barely got hurt are staying in bed. I don't mean any offense but it's just weird. Of course, not all the nobles were like that. Some of them actually fought pretty well."

"I don't think you can blame them though. They lived in luxury all their lives and didn't have to do anything to survive. It's really not their fault. You can't really expect them to fight overnight," Hikari pointed out. "Though I have to agree, I don't know why they are staying in bed with those little tiny scratches. There are others who have it a lot worse."

"Hey, let's go sit down alright?" asked Sakura. "It's feels like we are being stared at, just standing at the entrance talking," she laughed. The others smiled and walked down to their table, ignoring Midori and Kotone who were also sitting at the same table as theirs.

For the last few days since that contest, the king had announced that he would let everyone off for a week. Though it was unnecessary, the choice he made also provided time for the royal family to sort out the results of the contests while giving plenty time for the contestants to rest. Everyone was allowed to explore the castle and come back to eat at anytime.

The servants, who had seen the four girls, pushed the cart over and started delivering the breakfast to them. One of them explained that for the rest of the four days, the king would have everyone spending 20 minutes with the prince.

The girls started eating and Sakura quickly stuck her fork into her food and tea, knowing that the silver utensils would tarnish upon contact with poison. Finally determining that everything was safe, she began filling her stomach.

During the process of this, worries filled her mind. Mysteries had still plagued her at night, making it terribly hard for her to even close her eyes. One particular thing that made her really scared was that she still had not gotten a reply from her family. They were not the ones to let a letter sit on the table, so what had happened? The very thought of having something tragic happening to them had sent cold shivers down her spine. She clenched her fork and smiled, talking to her friends again.

"How was the fighting contest like?" she asked, not knowing what else to say. "I know you said it wasn't violent but it's hard to imagine a fighting contest that is… not violent I guess. I mean it is a fighting contest after all," she shrugged.

The trio recalled their memories and suddenly started laughing uncontrollably. "I… I'm sorry," said Miyu between her fits of laughter. "It's just that some of the fighting duels were hilarious." She clutched her stomach as she laughed even harder.

"Honestly, you should have seen it!" Sora said between gasps of air. "I don't know if I can explain it but it was really funny."

Even Hikari couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, who will be my opponent?" asked Sora, finally able to swallow her laughter after a while.

"I volunteer!" shouted Miyu joyfully, raising her hand. She got up from the table and walked to Sora's side, pretending to glare at her.

They both clenched their eyes shut and turned their heads to the side, mocking the others who had fought that way. They stared pawing each other like cats, slapping each other's hands.

The scene went on quite a while, getting laughter from Sakura and Hikari.

Sora hissed and Miyu meowed in a fierce way. They both looked at each and burst out in laughter at the scene that they made. The four girls all started laughing, earning a few curious glances. Midori and Kotone couldn't help but also feel the corner of their lips tilt up in a smile.

"I'm sorry, I can't explain it or act it out, but let me tell you," said Miyu as she sat down, "It was hilarious. It was laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe. You couldn't even hear me laugh because I was laughing so hard. My face was all red. I know it was rude of me to laugh but I honestly couldn't stop it."

The girls all continued eating, their animated chatter receiving laughter and smiles. They talked about this and that, about that and this. Random subjects filled the air between them.

Before they knew it, they all finished eating. A male servant suddenly came by, tapping Hikari on the shoulder. "Miss, are you Hikari Suzuki?"

"Yes."

"Please follow me. It is your turn to talk to the prince."

"I will see everyone later then," smiled Hikari.

They all smiled back and she walked away.

"I have to go to the bathroom. I'll see you guys later this afternoon alright?" asked Sora.

"See ya then," replied Miyu happily, energy still bouncing off of her.

Sakura smiled and waved. "See you later."

Miyu and Sakura talked for a while longer, leaving the table a few minutes later. Sakura had decided to find Kero and Yue again. Maybe this time she was allowed to get some practice in. Though she missed the fighting contest, she could always train with them right? Besides, she was aching for something to do. Her body felt so lazy and weak.

Walking down the hallways, she kept herself occupied by staring at all the beautiful decorations. Everything was perfect, from the small details on how each carpet was placed to the big details on how the design of the castle was like. And before she knew it, she had gotten to the big wooden doors again. She stopped walking and turned the doorknob, opening the door slowly while hoping that it was Kero and Yue. She would be pretty embarrassed if it wasn't them and if she had interrupted someone else.

"Sakura?" asked Kero.

Recognizing the voice, she opened the door widely. "Kero!"

Her golden haired cousin smiled upon seeing her. "Hey!"

Sakura stepped in all the way, hearing the door shut behind her. "I didn't get to see you last time."

Yue had stepped into her view with a white towel draped across the back of his neck. A few strands of his hair were matted to his face. "I know. We were helping out with the contest. Though… I didn't see you show up," he trailed off.

"Ah yeah. Two reasons really. One because of what Touya had ordered me to do and the other because…" Her eyes widened as she saw someone move out of the corner of her eyes. No way… It was the prince. How much had he heard?

"Prince Li… I'm sorry for not greeting you earlier. I didn't see you…" she rambled, worried that he would start asking all these questions. How could she have been so careless? Now how was she supposed to cover up her tracks?

Her mind told her that something was wrong. "Wait… This isn't right. Something is wrong with this situation. What is it? Something is out of place… Come on, think. What is out of place? Wait, I don't think … He shouldn't be here." Realization shone brightly upon her as she figured it all out. "Weren't… you supposed to be with Hikari though?" she asked slowly, her mind thinking everything through.

He just furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"I… I just thought that you were supposed to be spending twenty minutes with her right now. One of the servants here told her that she was supposed to see you."

He shook his head. "Nope."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I probably just made a mistake and heard wrong or something." But she hadn't. She hadn't made a mistake or heard wrong. Miyu and Sora heard too. What was happening?

The door suddenly opened again. "Prince?" asked a servant who peeked his head in. "Ah, there you are. We are having you spend 20 minutes with each girl right now. The king told me you know which room you are supposed to be in.

He felt his heart thump with fury as he took in a deep breath while trying to cool down his burning emotions. His body filled with frustration making his body tense up even more. It was bad enough that his parents were using a contest to determine his wife, now he had to spend time with every one of them.

Without another word, he stormed out of the room, the servant following meekly behind him.

"Wow, he looked mad," blinked Sakura.

"He's mad at this whole thing," said Yue bluntly as he walked across the room to grab a sword. He titled it up into the air, watching the sunlight from the window bounce off the sword.

"I kind of feel sorry for him," said Kero, stretching. He sighed. "I mean, I wouldn't be happy either if I was told that suddenly I would be married to some unknown girl who won a contest. You can't blame him. He doesn't know who the girl is, what happened in her past, he won't know anything about the woman until the day after he marries her. He won't even be able to fall in love before he marries. And… What if something goes wrong with all of it? He has a lot of stress put on him. The contest is just making it worse."

Yue smirked and thrust the sword out in front of him in one graceful move. "Mention anything about him falling in love to him and he'll beat you up without another word. In any case, I challenge you to sword fighting, Kero," said Yue, changing the subject.

Kero stuck out his tongue, raising his pointer finger to pull down the skin beneath his right eye. "Bleh."

Yue's left eyebrow twitched as he neared Kero. "And what do you mean by that?

"Uh… Have I ever told you how nice you look in that… Um… Shirt?" asked Kero, faking fright.

"Oh really? I recall that this morning someone was saying that it was "butt ugly"."

"Who was that someone?"

"His name was Kero."

"Oh, what a coincidence! That person who said your outfit was "butt ugly" had the same name as me!" said Kero, his eyes widened in pretended shock.

"In fact, the person was you."

"Really? What a bigger coincidence right?" Kero vigorously nodded his head.

"Kero," said Sakura, an innocent smile on her face. "I think you had better run."

Kero looked at Yue and back at Sakura. His eyes moved quickly back and forth at the two. "Why not? It looks like I got him mad. Too da loo! I'll see you next time Sakura!"

He raced out the door, right past Sakura. Yue followed in quick steps behind him. Sakura shook her head and laughed at her two cousins and the show that they put on.

She suddenly sighed and walked across the room toward the weapon rack, tracing her hand over one of the handles. She picked up the sword, wielding it in her right hand, feeling the weight and seeing the light reflect off of it. She raised her left hand, her pointer finger and her middle finger side by side. Her other fingers were held down with her thumb. It was like she was holding a peace sign, or bunny ears, just that the two fingers sticking up were touching. She ran her two fingers up the blade, feeling how sharp it was.

The memory of the dagger she picked up flew through her mind. And that reminded of her of home. Memories and worries filled through her head again, making her lose focus on what her left hand was doing. Only the pain that she felt brought her attention back to where she was. Taking a look at her fingers, she saw blood trickling down slowly. It seemed that she had accidentally swiped her fingers down the sharp blade on accident. Sighing, she wiped the blood off the blade with her clean fingers to stop anyone from suspecting anything. She headed down to the infirmary, careful with the wound, thinking about how ironic it was that how she always managed to get hurt in one way or the other.

Walking into the infirmary, she saw that there were a few people in there. A nurse dressed in a white outfit came up to her.

"Hi, did you need any help with anything?" she asked kindly.

"Ah… I accidentally cut myself on something. It's nothing bad. I was just wondering if I could use the disinfectant down here and some of the other things to tend to the wound. Can I?'

"Of course. Would you like me to help you?"

"No, it's alright. I know what to use. Thank you, though."

"No problem. I'll be helping the others so if there is anything that you need me to do, feel free to get me," replied the nurse, surprised that woman did not need assistance.

"Alright," smiled Sakura. She glanced at her hand. There was a clean cloth in the training room for accidents and she had wrapped a small one around her fingers so that she wouldn't get the blood on the carpet or anywhere else. She grabbed the needed supplies and sat down, nursing her wound. While doing this, she couldn't but help overhear another person in the room.

"OUCH! Stop it. Can't you be any gentler? If you can't, I'm going to go to my daddy and he's going to tell the king to fire you. And when I'm the queen, I'm going to punish you and… OW!" a woman whined. "I told you to be careful. I don't want a scar left on my skin!"

Sakura felt pity for the person who had to serve the girl. She quickly finished, wrapping a small bandage cloth around her middle finger, and another around her pointer finger. It was hard working with just her right hand, but she managed. Quite often, she had gotten hurt working in the restaurant. By now, she was used to it. It was funny how working in such a place had helped her out so much.

"I told you to treat my wound better! It better not leave a scar or else you will be in big trouble," huffed the girl as she stormed outside. Sakura just merely ignored the woman and put everything away neatly. She walked out the door and into the hallway, not knowing what to do. She was just wandering aimlessly when she heard a girl crying around the corner.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked upon seeing a brunette crouched on the floor, crying. The woman looked up, her brown eyes shimmering with tears.

"No… I'm not alright," she said between sobs, covering her eyes with one of her hands. In any normal case, she would have jumped up in embarrassment and ran away from being caught in such a venerable state by a complete stranger. But… her body felt so weak, so numb, and so stiff. She doubted she would be able to move even if the royal family came by… To her, it felt the world was ending, sending shockwaves of pain into her body. The girl dropped her hand and it fell uselessly to the floor, her eyes staring up at the ceiling motionlessly, her body trembling.

Worried, Sakura sat down onto the floor, next to the young woman. "What's wrong?" she asked, her eyes nervously searching the woman's face. She felt a really quick shock of pain fly through own heart as she saw the distressed woman in next to her.

The woman cried, using the heel of her palm to wipe away her flowing tears. However, it did not seem to help any since even more tears streamed down. She sniffed in deeply. "Nothing really," the girl replied, not knowing how she was going to explain everything and spill her life out to a stranger. No doubt she was one of the contestants…

Sakura frowned at the pain the woman was going through. "I'm… Sakura Kinomoto," she mumbled, not knowing how to comfort her.

"Chiharu," she managed to croak out unconsciously, her body shaking with silent sobs.

"Chiharu… Can I call you that?" asked Sakura softly, careful not to talk too loud.

The girl just merely nodded, sniffling as her heart suddenly gave a large thump when her worries pulled her back into a large dark abyss.

"It's a pretty name," said Sakura suddenly, still not knowing how to help. She was always at a loss of words on how to cheer up someone crying. At these times she knew what she should say, just that she didn't know how to put it in words.

Chiharu did not know how to reply. She just let out another sob, feeling her heart pounding tightly against her chest. It hurt so much and yet she couldn't do anything about it.

"Chiharu… Can you tell me what happened?"

Chiharu pondered for a second, still wondering on whether or not she could just blurt her problems out onto the stranger. Sure, the girl… Sakura, seemed innocent enough and she didn't seem to be a royal or anything… She didn't seem like someone who would intentionally hurt her somehow. But she felt so uncomfortable blurting something out to a person she never met before.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," said Sakura quickly, seeing the rushed emotions on Chiharu's face. "It's just that I thought you would feel better if you let it out."

Chiharu continued crying. Maybe telling someone and letting it out wouldn't be such a bad idea… But… How could she explain all that had happened to her? Images and flashes flew through her mind. And slowly, the pain started building up again. Why was she so weak? She kept crying, not knowing whether or not to feel anger toward her weakness or pity toward herself. Her sobs went on, Sakura just waiting for her to calm down a bit.

She finally spoke, ignoring any other choice. Who cared that she was spilling all her secrets out to a complete stranger? Her heart was in pain and her whole body was shaking… What would telling another person do to make it any worse? Maybe the person sitting next to her was right. Maybe she would feel better telling someone. And with the enormous pain in her heart, she would try anything to numb it just for a while.

"My mom is sick and my dad and my brother are all working really hard. They don't get enough sleep or eat enough and I'm afraid what's going to happen to them. I…" she sobbed, her tears falling down furiously. She swallowed, trying to talk. "I just don't know what I can do. The castle job pays enough but my mom's medical fees are so… high priced. I'm scared that I'm going to lose her. She's raised me since I was a child and I just can't imagine the future without her there to guide me. My dad and my brother are always rushing to work everyday, I'm afraid that they are going to faint someday…" She paused, trying to compose herself again. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, the tears still running feverishly down the sides of her cheeks. "I'm just afraid that something might happen to my family and that I might lose them. I'm scared… I hate this feeling but I'm really scared," she repeated, her voice cracking.

She sniffled, trying to talk, just spilling her heart out and not knowing if she repeated anything or said anything that didn't make sense. "I'm afraid of being the only one left. My dad and my brother's health doesn't seem so good either, and it's beginning to make me so worried everyday. And then one day my father had told me that he made a deal with his old friend. It was an arranged marriage. Apparently, my father's friend had become rich and his son was at a marriageable age. They said that he was 2 years older than me, which makes him 21. I never met him nor talked to him, but everyone keeps saying that I will be happy in my future if I marry him. I accepted it. What else could I have done? I don't want my family getting so weak." she whispered. "My family was depending on me and I couldn't let them down. It's just…" She trailed off, crying harder than ever.

"I feel so useless this way," she continued. "Like I can't hold onto anything… Like I'm alone in the world. I just miss all the fun times my family had together. They are all sick and running around and suddenly I'll be living in a complete life without them. And my family can't pay the medical fees yet until after I get married. It's just so difficult, marrying someone you don't know in such a short time… for money nonetheless."

Sakura patted her back. "Is it that you are afraid of the future? Of what's going to happen to you? Are you afraid of the emotional pain that might come?"

She nodded her head, all worries of spilling her life out to a stranger lost. She was now feeling just a tiny, tiny bit better talking to someone else. Maybe… Just maybe talking to the girl next to her would help her sort out her mind a tiny bit? Chiharu continued, trying to control her wavering voice.

"Yeah… Pain… It's not something new, but this degree of pain is. I've never had my heart hurt so badly. It's just so… I don't know how to explain it but I hate it. And about my future… I'll be handing it over to some guy I don't even know. I'll be marrying him… But I don't know how much I'll have to go through. Will I love him? Will he love me? How will his family treat me? How will I treat his family? Will I be going through more pain? Will I be separated from my family? What is he like? Literally, I'm handing my life over to him. How I live the rest of my life… It's going to be all controlled by him. And I'm really worried about that." She opened her mouth, about to say more her when, surprisingly, she found her voice unable to come out. Her mind was completely jumbled with everything going on, all her questions, and all her worries. A big pressure was upon her and she actually felt an imaginary weight settling on her mind. She couldn't speak because she couldn't form the words for everything going on, because she didn't want to continue to bring the memories and worries back.

"Here, I'm lending my shoulder for you to cry on okay?" offered Sakura, knowing that Chiharu could no longer say anything else more. She understood.

Without another word, the girl placed her forehead on Sakura's shoulder, crying it all out. At the moment, she felt so jumbled that she didn't know what to do, or say. Though many more things were on her mind… She had to admit that she felt so much better knowing that someone else had heard it out. It was funny… How just talking and letting someone know could cheer herself up just a little bit. However, her heart was still burdened, but no doubt she would feel better if she cried it all out. And so, her sobs echoed through the air. It was a wonder how no one had heard. Sakura just sat there, her own feelings bothering her. They were pushed aside though, for the girl sitting next to her who was even more upset.

Minutes and minutes passed before the girl had finally calmed down.

"Thank you," she whispered, lifting her head up. If she could she would cry the whole day. "Thank you so much. I just really needed someone there to talk to. I guess crying it out helped. My mind is a bit clearer. I guess… I guess that I didn't feel so lonely with you talking to me. It made me feel a little safer, knowing that I'm not the only one in the world. Thank you," she said again. "Though it still bothers me so much that my family is never, ever going to be the same again."

"No, they will be the same. They'll always be the same loving parents and brother, no matter what. Chiharu, they love you and no doubt they know what they are doing. They know that you will like your life with him, that's why they chose him. Your father would never let something bad happen to you. Besides, think about the good things. Your mom is going to be better, you brother and father are going to live more comfortable lives and you'll have a chance at love and everything." Sakura looked down into her lap. "Sorry, I didn't do much to help you out. I'm not that good at comforting people. I'm usually at a loss of what to say when I see someone cry."

The woman shook her head. "No, you helped me out a lot. You're right. My father would never let something bad happen to me. You helped my mind clear up. Thank you."

"If you need anyone to talk to, feel free to find me. By the way, do you know who you are getting married to?"

"Umm… Takashi Yamazaki."

Sakura smiled. "Everything will be okay, definitely. I don't know what to say but don't lose hope okay?"

"Okay. Thank you. I'll… I'll see you next time alright?" she asked.

Sakura nodded and smiled, standing up.

"You've helped me out a lot. I'm not kidding… Really. Thank you… I admit I'm still really upset but I do feel better. Um… Bye."

"Bye," replied Sakura giving her a warm smile, hoping that it would cheer the girl up just a bit more.

The girl walked away, her emotions clearing up a bit. She had decided that she would ask her dad to arrange a meeting between her and her… future husband. Sakura had given her hope. Maybe everything would be alright. She wiped the last batch of her tears away and decided to do something instead of crying around. After all, what would crying do?

Meanwhile, Sakura had just started roaming the hallways again, somehow bumping into Hikari along the way.

"Sakura," greeted Hikari. "I'm surprised to see you here."

Sakura smiled. "Ah, I'm just randomly roaming the hallways. How about you?"

"Same here. Oh did you know? The servant made a mistake and called me at the wrong time. The prince didn't come until a while after."

"Really?" she asked as a small piece of the confusing puzzle placed itself in the right place. However, even though that piece was "supposedly" in the correct place, the others were still scattered around for her to find and fix. When would her life every calm down? "That's why I thought I saw the prince and I thought that he was supposed to be with you…"

"Yeah. I had to wait for a while," she smiled. "I'm heading…"

"I'm sorry, Sakura Kinomoto right?" interrupted a man behind her.

Sakura turned around and saw a servant, nodding her head once in confirmation.

"Please follow me. It's your turn to talk to the prince."

And that is how she found herself sitting in another extravagant room a few minutes later, staring at the cup of tea placed before her.

A minute had passed and the room was still silent, save the sounds of him sipping tea. The silence felt uncomfortable. It was not the kind where they couldn't find anything to talk about. Rather, it was the kind where they did have something to talk about, but no way to voice it. She stared at the teacup in front of her, watching as the steam traveled up into the air. Finally, she lifted her hands from her lap and wrapped her fingers around the cup, taking a small sip of the tea.

It traveled down her throat where it made its way downward to her stomach. She felt a tingly warm feeling from where the liquid came into contact with the insides of her body.

There was no way to test for poison but she assumed it would be safe. She and the prince were both sharing the tea poured from the same teapot and she doubted that whoever was out to get her would ever poison the tea the prince would drink. Besides, it seemed like he had no side affects as of yet. Even if something did happen, there wasn't anything important happening that day. Though she did not know her enemy very well, she knew that there was no way that her enemy would put a fatal poison into her system… at least so soon. And if her assumptions were right…

"What happened to your hand?" asked the prince suddenly, his voice indifferent. With every other meeting, he would always stare at someone else besides the woman in front of him. But in this case, with the silence and the curiosity tugging at him, he had accidentally let his eyes wander to her for a moment and saw her spaced out look. She was staring ahead at nothing and when she brought the teacup to her lips, he saw the bandage wrapped around her fingers.

Sakura blinked as he asked the question. She looked down at her hands that were still wrapped around the warm cup and lifted her left hand up to take a better look at it.

"Oh, I had hurt myself in the training room… Not that I know how to fight of course," she added. "It's just that I was leaning against the weapon rack and I somehow managed to cut myself on a blade. I'm clumsy aren't I?" she laughed, hoping that he wouldn't ask about what she had said earlier.

But it was too late. It seemed that he had still remembered what she had said previously that day. "Who's Touya?" he asked, not a hint of curiosity showing in his voice… Though he had to admit, he was curious.

"My brother." Well, at least he had the patience to ask her a few questions. It didn't mean that his cold demeanor had lightened up much though. He was still cold and unfeeling… Save the fact that he actually spoke a few words to her now without her starting the conversation.

He sat there with a few more questions bothering him. He didn't want to say anything more to her. He didn't want to talk. On the other hand, his brain was filled to the rim with questions, questions, and more questions. Though his mind told him not to say anything more, his mouth went off on its own.

"What were the two reasons?"

Though he had put in the least amount of words as possible, making it hard to understand, she knew that he had meant to ask about what she had said that morning to Kero and Yue… About why she didn't show up for the fighting contest.

"Well, the first reason is what Touya ordered me to do. He had told me not to overwork myself and not to enter in any fighting activities or anything that would push me too far… The reason why he said that connects to the second reason. My body… It's kind of weak. I can do a lot of stuff but at times my body stops functioning on me. Every once in a while I get really tired and faint. I've went to the doctor and she had told me that she couldn't figure out why."

Sakura paused, trying to think of what to say. "She says that there is nothing wrong that she can find that, just that I tend to get more tired than others. She says I lack a lot of nutrition and that I need to take care of my body better. I think she also mentioned something about sleep. I… I don't get a lot of it with working and all that." Sakura paused again, thinking that it would sound more truthful if she pretended to think about her life.

"I thought I would be fine if I ignored what my brother said and went ahead to enter the fighting contest. I had been getting a lot more sleep, and I've been eating a lot more after all. But, coincidentally, I fainted that day. My mind was hazy and everything. I don't know what happened but it seems as if I walked in a storage closet without knowing."

At this, she saw a flicker of emotion pass through his eyes again. It was just like the other time. It was unidentifiable and so quick that she barely caught it. This time, she thought she was just imagining it, just like the other time it had happened. Maybe it was because she was so curious about what emotion it was and whether or not it was just a fragment of her thoughts last time, that she had somehow tricked her mind thinking that she had saw the emotion again. Yes, it was confusing but it seemed more logical that actually seeing him with emotion… other than anger that is… Which reminded her of a question. Why was he so cold and unemotional?

"Then I fainted and missed the contest," she continued. "My friends found me later on. But anyways, I have a question too. It seems like I answered your question in enough detail," she smiled, still pondering whether or not to ask. "So… Why are you so cold and unemotional?"

He stared at her. The way she asked the question had seemed innocent enough. He had heard this same question quite a few times from different people though. His sisters often asked him when they were frustrated or upset with him and he had heard this from many other people, namely the women that he was forced to go on a "date" with.

Sakura stared worriedly at him. Perhaps she had gone too far and invaded too much of his privacy? Sure, he asked her a few questions but they weren't really… Okay maybe they were a tiny bit personal but she couldn't blame him for asking. This question that she asked him… Maybe it went a little too far and brought up bad memories? She shook her head in frustration with herself. It would have been better if she had kept her mouth shut.

He sat still, considering the question. Unlike the other times he had been asked that, he actually thought of answering the question since she answered his in so much detail. He felt that it was unfair, having her tell him so much when he didn't even tell her a simple thing.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I should have asked that question," said Sakura quickly.

"No… There's no reason I'm cold. I was just raised this way I guess." He shrugged nonchalantly honestly not knowing how to explain it himself. It was just him, how could he explain it when he didn't even know that answer all that well?

"Ah…" she paused, not exactly understanding what me meant. "I… Umm… I don't think I understand."

Maybe he should have ignored the question. That way he wouldn't have to say so much. But now that he said something, it only seemed right to finish and explain what he meant. He let out a breath of air. "I've been raised strictly so that I would be the perfect king in the future. I've been trained like this and I guess that's why I am "cold" as everyone puts it. Really, I see no difference. I've just have seen more than people actually have and been through situations that most don't go through. And now, I'm suddenly called "cold and unemotional" by everyone. This has always been me so I don't know why everyone is making a big deal about it."

He wondered if the explanation was simple enough for her to understand. Though Syaoran didn't appreciate telling her about himself, surprisingly he didn't feel as bothered as he would have. Not that he was becoming any closer to her by doing this. He looked across at her.

She pondered his answer for a while, thinking it over. It did make sense actually.

Another question came rising out of her throat without her consent. "Umm… You seem to have a very deep dislike for anyone female, not including your family of course," spoke Sakura suddenly, still staring at her teacup. She had drunk half of it and it had cooled.

"Hnn…" he replied again.

She shut her mouth, knowing that she was probably going too far. For him to share anything with her was an improvement, she didn't want him to become all cold to her again.

"Umm… Favorite color?" she asked.

He raised his eyebrow.

"Ahh…"

Meanwhile Tomoyo and Yelan were both walking down the hallways, chatting.

"Do you think you made a mistake with the contest placements?" asked Tomoyo looking at Yelan as they both stopped walking to talk. "It's just surprising that she's in first place."

"Did you think it would be the other girl, Sakura was it?"

"No, after she didn't show up at the fighting contest, I knew that she wouldn't be in first place anymore. It's just surprising that Hikari Suzuki is in first place. Are you sure someone didn't mess with the copy?"

"It could be. I'll be looking over everything again. I also think that it's inaccurate. I thought that the other girl would have been in first place."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," replied Tomoyo.

"Come with me, we'll go check over everything again," said Yelan.

"Alright then."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I know that this may have not been the best chapter. When I read it, I found some of the dialogues to be somewhat "cliché". I don't know if you guys thought the same as me. I really want to thank everyone for being so patient with me. : )

And thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! Your reviews mean so much to me!

**Sakura Petal Wings**; **butterflyangellover14**; **AngelEmCuti**; **Cherry Akira Li**; **Taya-chan**; **da1wholuvanime**; **fluffypenguinscandy**; **maehwa**; **Storyteller of dimensions**; **sweetsally**; **Anonymousfanfic**; **Black-Sakura27**; **winterkaguya**; **Red-Emerald**; **confuzzled lil phoenix**; **TwinkleStar**; **merylin**; **rondallagurl**; **kaYeYe**; **xanimegalx**; **milkylane18**; **dilly-sammas luver**; **DJ Juliette**; **epobbp**; **lily**; **tohru6991**; **mangalvr**; **breathlessnightxx**; **.lover**; **EvilDunkin-Sama**; **Kiminochi**; **-siarafaerie-101-miss**; **Destiny921**; **Sakura-chan Master of the Clow**; **ccsread**; **Kurukus**; **Kandygurl4**; **rosedreamer101**; **sakurachan**; **animelikr**; **Kira Sakura-Chan**; **StarAngel02**; **hamxham**; **Waffo eater**; **zoe**; **KawaiiAngelic**; **BabieLuvly101**; **tennislover431**; **Ichi-chan**; **RedGirl12146**; **YGOGXFAN**; **SnowCharms**; **animelover0328**; **sarah3905780**; **Cherie Blossom**; **Satashiokami12**; **Mizufairy**; **Sapphire Days**; **lunarmidnightwolf**; **rockerfaith**; **pickles**; **OCD girl**; **Twilight Kisses**; **Airi Kawabe**; **Autumn Misery; WolfGirl15; -natsume-luvr25-; AnimeManga4evah; ss aishah; veryblissfulme; Starlight123**


	13. Chapter 13

For those who want an explanation please read on. For those who rather read about the major point, please skip to the third paragraph and onwards.

Sorry that this isn't an update but I just wanted to let you know what is going on. Yes, this story is being continued and yes, I do have nine chapters of the revised version done. I realized that I didn't like the old version and how it was so cliché and verbose. I don't claim that my new version is any better but I have put in effort and hope that it is more appealing. The reason why I keep rewriting this is because I feel that the story could be better and I would like for you guys (the readers) to be able to enjoy a good story. I've realized that I'm always going to find flaws in my story so my goal this time is to be able to complete the plot first, and satisfactorily. Any major revisions can wait… I hope. And onto the point:

I have rewritten nine chapters of the contest. It's _slightly_ different from the old version but has the same concept and major characters. However, I don't know what the best way of posting it should be. I'd like to keep the old version up so should I post it as a new story? Please drop me a review or message and let me know if you're still with me and this story. Even a smiley face would be fine. I'd just like to know if you're still interested in the plot and if I should continue it. As much as I write fanfiction because I enjoy writing, I also write it because I'd like to give back to the fanfiction community and allow others to read a story they may like.

Also, my writing style has changed a bit… but I don't know if it's for the better or worse. I've posted a story, called His Amusing Secretary. If you happen to read it, let me know which writing style you preferred (the one I used for The Contest or His Amusing Secretary). I'm still trying to discover which style is more appealing.

Thank you so much! I'm still a beginner at writing so please guide me! All sorts of critique are appreciated! :) Special shout out to **blondie** and **CuteSherry** for their long, phenomenal review/critique!

As I'm not allowed to post an author's note as a chapter, here is the first page of what chapter 13 (of the old version) was supposed to be:

The distorted image of her reflection in the mirror filled her glimmering emerald eyes. She moved her hands so that her palms were firmly planted on the edge of the sink counter, her fingertips pointing towards her with her wrists facing the mirror. Her legs became weak, their lack of energy making her rely on her arms to keep her from collapsing. She leaned over the sink, her back slouched above it. Silent, incoherent words filled the air as her lips moved in a repeating pattern. But the second that she blinked, her tears were released from her hold, diving freely onto the white sink, not even touching her face. She suddenly backed away from the sink and took a few steps back, leaning against the marble wall behind her. She slid down onto the floor, her knees bent and her feet touching the floor.

"_What's going on? It's like I've awoken from some dream that I had."_

She recalled the memories that she had acquired that morning, when she was walking through the halls. Accidentally overhearing a conversation, she found out that there was another girl who was stressing out about the contest. From the talk, Sakura was able to pick up the facts that the girl wanted to win, so she could pay off the enormous debt thrown onto her family.

A painful smile formed on her face. The stuff about debts and money was happening so much around the castle, it was becoming cliché. _"Really… It's really like I've opened my eyes. I wonder why I feel this way. It's so weird how the world's problems just suddenly come smacking into me. I've never really, I mean I have paid attention to all the problems going on before, but it seems like it's the first time that I… feel like I'm feeling what everyone else is feeling. I can't explain it, but I just used to accept everything the way it was. I tried to help when I could, but the problems never truly made an impact on me. I would be upset, hearing that someone was going through problems, but it would just be some thing that bothered me just a bit. I would sympathize and do what I was able to do, but otherwise it was just another thing that happened daily in my life. I knew that they were in pain, but I never really understood it, or rather, I just didn't really think about what kind of degree of pain they were going through. I… can't explain it."_

Sakura closed her eyes, bringing one hand up to cover them. She breathed in deeply and dropped her hand, wondering where her thoughts were going and why she was suddenly so emotional.

"_Days and days would pass. I would go to work and go home. The next day and the day after that… and all the others days that passed, it would just be the same. Now that I think about it, I kind of was like a robot. I just tried my best to help those around me and just listened. Life was just like a simple schedule. It was just something given to me and everyone else. It's what I thought. I just thought that it was just my job to live through my life. But now, it seems like the world is so much bigger. Have I been fooling myself? What are my true emotions? What do I truly feel? Why am I so confused about what's going on! Why… Why can't I understand myself?"_


End file.
